Twenty seven migrants, among them a newborn and three other children, lost their lives on Wednesday when two fiberglass boats overturned about 14 miles off the coast of Italy’s Lampedusa island. The vessels had set out from Libya, carrying people escaping poverty and conflict.
Italian officials reported that 60 survivors, including 21 unaccompanied minors from Pakistan, Egypt, Somalia, and Sudan, were brought to Lampedusa’s migrant reception center. Search operations resumed at dawn on Thursday, with more than 15 people still missing.
This latest tragedy unfolded amid a spike in arrivals. Shortly after midnight, three more migrant boats reached Lampedusa, pushing the total landings in just a few hours to over 100 individuals.
Aid groups continue to warn that the central Mediterranean remains one of the most dangerous migration routes on the planet, claiming thousands of lives each year as people risk everything to reach Europe.
