Rome: A boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized Wednesday in international waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 26 people and leaving around another dozen missing, the Italian coast guard and UN agencies said.
Sixty survivors were brought to a centre in Lampedusa, said Filippo Ungaro, a UNHCR spokesman in Italy. There were 92 to 97 migrants on board when the boat departed Libya, according to survivor accounts. Authorities were still searching for any remaining survivors.
The coast guard said in a statement that the death toll stood at 26, but was still “provisional and being updated.” Based on survivor accounts, about 95 migrants left Libya on two boats, International Organisation for Migration spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo said.