At least 27 dead as boats carrying migrants sink off Italy

LAMPEDUSA, Italy — Rescue vessels resumed a desperate search on Thursday for migrants missing at sea after two crowded boats sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa, with 27 dead already confirmed.

Sixty survivors were brought to shore on Wednesday, two of them taken by helicopter to Sicily for treatment and the others held in the reception centre on the island, according to the Red Cross.

"Of the 58, 21 are minors. They spent a quiet night and are generally in good health," said Imad Dalil, the Red Cross official who runs the reception centre.

The majority are Somali, with a few Egyptians, he added.

Authorities have started efforts to identify the bodies found so far.

Around 95 people were on the boats according to the UN, with the number of confirmed dead rising to 27 overnight, suggesting around eight people were missing.

"At least 27 people have drowned in a tragic shipwreck near Lampedusa," said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in a social media statement.

"Over 700 refugees and migrants have now died in 2025 in the Central Mediterranean," he said. "All responses — rescue at sea, safe pathways, helping transit countries and addressing root causes — must be strengthened."

First port of call

Lampedusa, just 145 kilometers off the coast of Tunisia, is often the first port of call for people trying to reach Europe in leaky or overcrowded boats.

An Italian helicopter spotted a capsized boat and several bodies in the water on Wednesday, about 14 nautical miles off Lampedusa, the coastguard said.

The boats had left Tripoli, Libya, earlier in the day, it said.

According to survivors, one of the boats started taking on water, causing people to climb onto the other boat, which then capsized.

A newborn baby was among the dead, according to Italian news reports.

Five vessels searched for survivors, including one from the EU's Frontex border agency, alongside a helicopter and two aircraft.

Despite the tragedy, the boats kept coming, with four others intercepted off Lampedusa overnight, according to the Red Cross.

A total of 240 people are currently being held in the reception centre waiting for processing, Dalil said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her "deepest condolences "to the victims and vowed to step up efforts to tackle migrant traffickers.

Her government took office in October 2022, vowing to cut the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe.

As part of this, it has cut deals with North African countries from which migrants embark, providing funding and training in exchange for help in stemming departures.

Meloni said stepping up rescue efforts was not enough to tackle the scourge of trafficking, saying this could be done only by "preventing irregular departures and managing migration flows".

More than 38,500 people have arrived on Italian shores so far this year, according to interior ministry figures.

This is slightly up on last year, but significantly less than the 100,000 reported by the same time in 2023.

Agencies Via Xinhua