More than 40 people feared dead after boat sinks near Lampedusa

At least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa, in the central mediterranean, according to media reports.

Four survivors who were rescued on Wednesday morning by a Maltese bulk carrier, and eventually moved to a patrol boat from the Italian coastguard, said they were on a vessel that had set off from Sfax, in Tunisia, and sank on its way to Italy’s shores.

The asylum seekers said their vessel, a precarious metal boat carrying 45 passengers, including three children, had begun to take on water as soon as they reached the open sea.

“Suddenly we were overwhelmed by a giant wave,” one survivor told the coastguard.

All the passengers, who are believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa, ended up in the open, stormy sea for hours. According to the testimonies of the four, at least 41 passengers drowned.

On Sunday, in a separate sinking, the bodies of a woman and toddler were recovered by the Italian coastguard after two shipwrecks overnight off of Lampedusa, Italy’s southernmost point.

Fifty-seven people were rescued and more than 30 were believed to be missing.

Citing accounts from survivors, Italian media reported that the two boats had departed from Sfax and had sunk in rough seas.

The first vessel had 48 people onboard, of whom 43 were rescued. The second boat had been carrying 42 passengers, of whom 14 were rescued.

According to interior ministry figures, more than 78,000 people have landed in Italy after crossing by boat from north Africa since the start of the year – more than double the arrivals during the same period in 2022.

The vast majority – 42,719 – had set off from Tunisia, which has surpassed Libya as the principal departure hub for migrants, and where the EU last month signed a €1bn (£860m) deal to help stem irregular migration.

The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, whose far-right government has imposed tough restrictive measures against NGO rescue ships, was a key protagonist of the deal.

Recently, Tunisia has been accused of removing hundreds of sub-Saharan African migrants to a desolate area along the border with Libya.

Libyan border guards and aid workers said they had rescued dozens of migrants they said had been left in the desert by Tunisian authorities without water, food or shelter, with many left to die in the extreme heat.