As many as 41 people are reported to have lost their lives after a migrant ship with a total of 45 people including three children sank off Lampedusa island in Italy Wednesday, according to the rescuers.
The boat departed from Sfax in Tunisia and sank within hours while it was on its way to Italy, according to a group of four people who survived the shipwreck.
Reports indicate that the survivors — three men and a woman — are from the Ivory Coast and Guinea and arrived island of Lampedusa Wednesday.
As many as 1,800 people died this year while entering Europe from North Africa.
According to the Tunisian authorities, the port city of Sfax — located about 80 miles (130km) from Lampedusa — is an important gateway for the migrants entering Europe hoping to get a better life.
Rescuers were told by the survivors that they were on a boat carrying 45 people, including three children.
The survivors noted that their boat left Sfax Thursday last week, but it sank within hours, according to BBC, adding that they were rescued by a cargo ship and then transferred to an Italian coast guard vessel.
On Sunday, the Italian coast guard reported two shipwrecks but it was not clear whether the vessel of the survivors was among one of those.
Comments are closed.