Migrant shipwreck in central Mediterranean claims lives of 41

A shipwreck in the central Mediterranean has claimed the lives of at least 41 migrants, the survivors who have just reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, told local media on Wednesday (Aug 9).

As per Ansa news agency reports, four people who survived the disaster last week told rescuers that they were on board a boat that was carrying nearly 45 people, including three children.

The boat set off last Thursday morning from Tunisia's Sfax, which is a hot spot in the migration crisis. However, after a few hours, it capsized and sank, the survivors were quoted as saying.

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The survivors, three men and a woman from Ivory Coast and Guinea said they were rescued by a cargo ship and then transferred onto an Italian coast guard vessel.

The coast guard had reported two shipwrecks on Sunday (Aug 6)saying that nearly 30 people were missing after the incident. It is not yet clear if this incident reported by the news agency Ansa, citing accounts from survivors, is linked to one of those.

The coast guard had also said that they had recovered 57 survivors and two bodies, amid media reports that at least one of the sunken boats had set off from Sfax on Thursday.

On Monday (Aug 7), Tunisian authorities said that they had recovered 11 bodies from a shipwreck near Sfax on Sunday, further adding that 44 migrants were still missing from the incident.

As per interior ministry data, which was last updated on Monday, Italy, so far this year, has witnessed around 93,700 migrant arrivals by sea, as compared to 44,700 which was recorded in the same period in the year 2022.

(With inputs from agencies)

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