26 dead, dozens missing in Lampedusa migrant shipwreck

A boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized Wednesday in international waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 26 people and leaving about a dozen missing, the Italian coast guard and U.N. agencies said.

Sixty survivors were brought to a center in Lampedusa, said Filippo Ungaro, a UNHCR spokesperson 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 Organization for Migration spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo said.

When one of the two vessels started to take on water, all the passengers were transferred to the other boat — made of fiberglass — which then capsized because of overloading, he said.

It wasn't immediately known how long the migrants had been at sea. Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Mannino said that the shipwreck happened “presumably at dawn.”

So far this year, 675 migrants have died making the perilous central Mediterranean crossing, not counting the latest sinking, according to the U.N. refugee agency.

“Deep anguish over yet another shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, where UNHCR is now assisting the survivors,” Ungaro said on X.