The Italian Coast Guard has recovered six bodies and is searching for up to 40 people missing after a rubber dinghy that departed from Tunisia 

 A nearly 60% drop of migrant arrivals in Italy last year to 66,317 from 157,651 in 2023

MILAN — The Italian Coast Guard has recovered six bodies and was searching for up to 40 migrants missing after a rubber dinghy that departed from Tunisia sank in the central Mediterranean, the U.N. refugee agency in Italy said Wednesday.

Another 10 people, including four women, were rescued Tuesday and brought to Italy’s southernmost island of Lampedusa. The Red Cross said they were in good physical condition, and were receiving psychological care.

Survivors said that some 56 people were in the dinghy when it departed from the Tunisian port of Sfax on Monday evening, the UNHCR reported.

Rough sea conditions

The boat started to deflate a few hours after departure. The people on board were from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Mali, the UNHCR said.

According to the AGI news agency, survivors, who are now receiving psychological support, stated that some of the missing had fallen overboard due to rough sea conditions.

Related :IOM : At least 13 killed, 14 missing after boat sinks off Yemen

The U.N. Missing Migrant Project

The U.N. Missing Migrant Project puts the number of the dead and missing in the perilous central Mediterranean at over 24,506 from 2014 to 2024, many of whom were lost at sea. The project says that number may be greater, as many deaths go unrecorded, with the sightings of so-called ghost ships with no one aboard and remains of people washing ashore in Libya not associated with any known shipwreck.

Related : At least eight die after migrant boat sinks off Greek island of Lesvos

8,963 migrants have arrived in Italy

So far this year, 8,963 migrants have arrived in Italy, according to Interior Ministry figures updated Wednesday, a 4% increase over the same period last year.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni‘s center-right government has pushed for economic agreements with northern African countries aimed at prevent departures. Speaking to lawmakers this week, Meloni credited the deals with a nearly 60% drop of migrant arrivals in Italy last year to 66,317 from 157,651 in 2023, adding that in 2024 1,695 people were dead or missing at sea, compared with 2,526 a year earlier.

40 migrants arrived on Lampedusa

In a separate incident, the ANSA news agency reported that another group of 40 migrants arrived on Lampedusa after traveling from Sfax in metal boats.

Source : Italian Media

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