At least 41 migrants died in a shipwreck near the Italian island of Lampedusa, AFP reported, citing survivors.

The four survivors of the shipwreck told rescuers that they were on board a boat that left Sfax, Tunisia, with 45 people on board, including three children.

According to survivors, the boat capsized a few hours after leaving Sfax.

The survivors, three men and a woman from Ivory Coast and Guinea, said they were rescued by a cargo ship and transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel.

On Sunday, the Italian coast guard reported two boats missing and announced that approximately 30 people were missing.

The Italian coast guard announced that it had rescued 57 people and recovered two bodies.

Tunisian authorities announced on Monday that they had recovered 11 bodies from a shipwreck near Sfax on Sunday and that 44 migrants were missing as a result of the accident.

Some 93,700 migrants have arrived in Italy since the beginning of 2023, according to a balance sheet presented on Monday by Italy’s Interior Ministry.

During the same period in 2022, the Italian authorities registered 44,700 migrants (news.ro)