ROME: At least 41 migrants have died in a shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa, survivors told local media on Wednesday.
A group of four people, originally from the Ivory Coast and Guinea and who survived the disaster told rescuers that they were on a boat that had set off from Sfax in Tunisia and sank on its way to Italy.
The survivors – three men and a woman – reached Lampedusa on Wednesday. Media reports suggest that over 1,800 people have lost their lives this year only so far in the crossing from North Africa to Europe.
The survivors told rescuers the boat was carrying 45 people, including three children. The boat left Sfax on Thursday last week, but sank within hours, they said adding they were rescued by a cargo ship and then transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel.
The coast guard reported two shipwrecks in the area on Sunday, but it is not clear yet whether this vessel was one of those.
Sfax, a port city about 130km from Lampedusa, is a common gateway for migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
In a few days time, Italian patrol boats and charity groups rescued another 2,000 people who have arrived on Lampedusa. Amidst a wave of racism against black Africans in recent months, attempts to leave the country by boat have increased.
