According to media reports, 41 refugees may have died when their boat sank off the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa. The boat left the town of Sfax in Tunisia but sank on the way to Italy, the Ansa news agency reported. She referred to survivors who reported 41 deaths, including children. However, no bodies have been found so far, according to Ansa.
Three men and a woman were rescued from the water by a Maltese cargo ship and brought to Lampedusa by the Italian coast guard on Wednesday morning. The four, originally from Ivory Coast and Guinea-Konakry, landed in Lampedusa and told Coast Guard soldiers that 45 of them left the town of Sfax at 10am last Thursday. Three children were among the passengers.
In the past few weeks, there have been repeated accidents involving refugee boats between Tunisia and Italy. This year, 1,800 people have already lost their lives en route from North Africa to Europe.
Tunisian authorities said that Sfax, a port city about 130 kilometers from Lampedusa, is visited by many migrants seeking safety and a better life in Europe. In the past few days, Italian rescue ships and charities have rescued 2000 people who have arrived on Lampedusa.