File photo: Crew members of NGO rescue ship 'Ocean Viking' give lifejackets to migrants on an overcrowded boat in the Mediterranean Sea, on October 25, 2022. Camille Martin Juan/Sos Mediterranee/Handout via REUTERS
Rome: About 20 migrants are believed to be missing after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean this week, the U.N. refugee agency and the Italian coast guard said Wednesday.
Seven Syrians were rescued and taken to the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, Italian rescuers said.
The coast guard said local officials spotted their sinking boat around 10 miles (16 kilometers) southeast of Lampedusa and a patrol boat rescued the survivors.
Chiara Cardoletti, the UNHCR representative to Italy, said on X that the seven survivors were "in critical condition and many have lost their relatives."
Survivors said they had left Libya on Sept. 1, the coast guard said in a statement.
"Survivors said 28 people were on board, including 3 minors, 21 of whom, during navigation, fell into the sea due to adverse weather conditions,” it added.
Naval units and a coast guard aircraft were searching for those missing.
The central Mediterranean is one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. According to the U.N. migration agency (IOM), more than 2,500 migrants died or went missing attempting the crossing last year, while 1,047 died so far this year.
