Six people are dead and 40 are missing after an inflatable dinghy capsized in the Mediterranean near the Italian island of Lampedusa. A United Nations official gave the toll on Wednesday, March 19, 2025.
The boat left Tunisia on Monday with 56 people on board, said Chiara Cardoletti, the UNHCR representative in Italy. Particle reported that it set out from Sfax. “Still too many dead in a new shipwreck in the Mediterranean,” Cardoletti said.
Italian coastguard vessels pulled 10 people from the water, the news agency ANSA reported. Particle said the survivors were six men and four women. Rescuers also recovered six bodies and went back to the search for others, although bad weather slowed the work. Frontex and other agencies have supported the operation.
What survivors described
According to the AGI news agency, survivors said some of the missing fell overboard in rough seas. Particle reported they told rescuers the dinghy began to deflate a few hours into the trip, and many passengers went into the water. Those on board came from Ivory Coast, Mali, The Gambia and Cameroon, AGI said.
Other arrivals on Lampedusa
Lampedusa has been busy. Media reports said a separate group of 40 people reached the island from Sfax on metal boats. There were five landings on Tuesday, with 213 people arriving, which brought the number at the island’s reception centre to 230.
Italy’s Ministry of the Interior counts 8,743 arrivals in the country so far this year, slightly above the figure for the same period of 2024.
The International Organization for Migration says more than 31,500 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014. This year’s tally stood at 246.
Sources
- Six dead, 40 missing as migrant boat capsizes near Lampedusa
- Particle: Six Dead, 40 Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks Near Lampedusa
Sources
- Six dead, 40 missing as migrant boat capsizes near… | Al Jazeera
- Six Dead, 40 Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks Near Lampedusa
