Migrant Tragedy: 21 Missing After Shipwreck Near Lampedusa

A migrant shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa has left 21 people missing and seven survivors rescued by the Italian coast guard. The survivors, all male Syrian nationals, indicated that their boat set off from Libya. Rescue efforts are ongoing as naval and air units search for the missing.

A migrant shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa has left 21 people missing and seven survivors rescued by the Italian coast guard, the authorities reported on Wednesday. The survivors, all male Syrian nationals, were found on a semi-sunken boat approximately 10 nautical miles southwest of Lampedusa.

According to their account, they departed Libya on Sunday, and rough weather conditions led to 21 of the 28 people onboard, including three children, falling into the sea. The coast guard transported the surviving individuals to Lampedusa and launched both naval and air units to search for the missing.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR in Italy confirmed that Sudanese people were also on the boat, which is believed to have set sail from Sabratha, near Tripoli. Chiara Cardoletti, head of UNHCR Italy, mentioned that the survivors were in critical condition. The central Mediterranean remains one of the deadliest migration routes, with over 2,500 migrants dying or going missing last year, according to the U.N. migration agency.

(With inputs from agencies.)