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At least 22 migrants have died, and many more are feared missing after two boats capsized in the central Mediterranean near the Italian island of Lampedusa, humanitarian agencies said on Wednesday. Around 60 people were rescued.
The boats had set off together from Zawiya, west of Tripoli in Libya, on Tuesday evening. According to survivors’ accounts reported by Italian news agency ANSA, one vessel began to capsize, prompting some passengers to scramble onto the other, which then became overloaded and started taking on water.
The Italian Red Cross, which operates Lampedusa’s migrant reception centre, confirmed the death toll at 22. It said 56 men and four women survived, but the total number of passengers remains unclear. Among the victims brought to the island’s mortuary were a newborn, three children, two women and two men.
The tragedy unfolded about 14 nautical miles from Lampedusa, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said. Italy’s financial police first spotted the migrants in the water during an aerial patrol.
Filippo Ungaro, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), described “deep anguish” over the incident, noting reports of 20 bodies recovered and as many still missing. UNHCR figures show at least 675 migrant deaths on the central Mediterranean route so far this year.
According to Italy’s interior ministry, 38,263 migrants have reached the country’s shores since January. The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has sought to curb departures by striking agreements with North African nations, offering funding and training in return for help in stopping migrant boats. Piantedosi said the disaster highlighted “the urgency” of preventing dangerous sea crossings and tackling the human trafficking networks behind them.
