At least 20 migrants have died and many more remain missing after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea near Italy’s Lampedusa island on Wednesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has confirmed.
UNHCR spokesperson Filippo Ungaro said on social media that around 20 bodies had been recovered, with a similar number still unaccounted for. Survivors are currently receiving assistance.
Italian news outlet Radio Radicale reported that the vessel was carrying 97 people when it overturned about 14 miles southwest of Lampedusa. RaiRadio1 said between 12 and 17 migrants are missing, while 60 survivors have been transported to the island.
Save the Children Italy said a one-and-a-half-year-old girl is among those feared lost. The overturned boat was spotted from the air by an Italian financial police aircraft.
The central Mediterranean route, often used by migrants departing North Africa for Europe, remains one of the world’s deadliest. According to UNHCR, 675 migrant deaths have been recorded on this route so far in 2025. Italy’s Interior Ministry reports that 38,263 migrants have arrived on the country’s shores this year.
