At least seven migrants, one of them pregnant, drown after their boat capsizes five miles off the island of Lampedusa early on Wednesday.
About 10 other people were missing, Luigi Patronaggio, the chief prosecutor of a team leading investigations into the deaths, told Reuters.
Another heartbreaking tragedy in the Med
Patronaggio believes the migrants started their journey in Tunisia.
“This latest tragedy in the Mediterranean is heartbreaking, I wonder what else has to happen to make Italy and Europe understand that we cannot go on like this,” Lampedusa’s mayor, Toto Martello, said.
The coastguards managed to save around 46 other migrants after the 8-metre-long boat capsizes. They were taken to Lampedusa, officials said.
Lampedusa under siege
Four other vessels brought 250 other migrants to the tiny island overnight, the local media reported. Lampedusa is constantly the scene for migrant arrivals due to its proximity to the North African coastline.
Almost 19,800 migrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year. Many of them leave their homeland to escape conflict and poverty. In 2020, during the same period, just over 6,700 in arrived, Interior Ministry figures show.
In May, the Italian government called for solidarity from its EU partners. The interior minister urged “structural changes” to migrant management within the bloc.
However, the call for help appeared to fall on deaf ears. Austria ruled out accepting any of the then recent arrivals from Lampedusa.
