The Italian Coast Guard rescued 46 people and recovered eight bodies, including that of a pregnant woman, after it was found floating in Malta’s territorial waters, the ANSA news agency reported early Friday.

The ship was spotted by the Guardia di Finanza (Italian special police force responsible for financial crimes) in the search and rescue zone of Malta as it approached the small island of Lampedusa (south), ANSA explained.

According to the agency, it contained dozens of people who left the coast of North Africa. Among the dead are three women, one is pregnant. Among the 46 rescued, there are two more pregnant women.

The mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Mannino, has appealed to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni not to leave his island alone in connection with this “great tragedy”.

“Please help us, we can’t go on like this,” Mr. Manino told ANSA as he made his way to the island’s port.

Every year, tens of thousands of people fleeing their countries, fleeing armed conflict or poverty, try to reach Europe in the hope of finding a better life, sailing the Mediterranean, mostly from Libya, which is about 300 kilometers from Italy. The ships they board often carry far more people than they can hold and are not at all safe.

In 2022, about 2,000 migrants and refugees lost their lives in the Mediterranean, including about 1,400 in the central Mediterranean, which, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), is by far the most dangerous maritime migration route in the world.

Source: RES-IPE