A total of 21 migrants are missing after a ship they were sailing on capsized in central Mediterranean waters heading toward Italy, the Italian coastguard said Wednesday, according to local press and United Nations officials.
The coastguard managed to rescue seven people of Syrian nationality who were on the boat that capsized in Italian waters and who were transferred to the island of Lampedusaone of the points in Italy closest to North Africa.
According to survivors, there were 21 other people missing on board the boat, including three children.
Nicola Dell’Arciprete, UNICEF coordinator in Italy, denounced “Another tragic shipwreck off Lampedusa“Most of the survivors claim to have lost family members. We are on site with our operational teams,” he wrote in X.
+++ Another tragic shipwreck along Lampedusa. Currently, after the first reconstructions, about twenty people are dispersing after three miners. Most of the superstitions are said by familiar people. Siamo sul posto with our operational team pic.twitter.com/vzJ152Tjve
– Nicola Dell’Arciprete (@DellArciprete_N) September 4, 2024
The Central Mediterranean is one of the deadliest migration routes in the world. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), More than 2,500 migrants have died or gone missing trying to cross this sea last year and 1,047 this yearaccording to data from the United Nations migration agency.
According to figures from the Italian Interior Ministry, few more than 43,000 migrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2024, well below previous years.
