Rescue officials and migrants rescue charities reported that the Italian coast?guard had recovered the bodies and rescued 58 surviving migrants from a boat which broke down while trying to 'cross -to Europe? from Libya.

A spokesperson for MSF and the International Organization for Migration said that some of the victims, 18 men and 1 woman, appeared to have died from hypothermia.

Five children were among the survivors who were transported to Lampedusa. Three more people, who were?onboard the boat', are missing, said a rescue official, refusing to give his name.

German migrant?group Sea-Watch stated that the 19 deaths were a part of the recent surge in sea fatalities. They estimated that at least 104 people died in the Mediterranean in the last three days, including 18 people who drowned earlier this morning when their inflatable vessel sank near western Turkey.

Sea-Watch released a statement saying that the situation was "terrifying: people drifting at sea without help for days."

IOM spokesperson estimated that the latest tragedy near Lampedusa has brought the total number of deaths in the central Mediterranean this year to 643 - the highest since 2014.

The spokesperson stated that the boat left western Libya on Saturday or Sunday morning, which means it had been at sea at least three days. On board were migrants hailing from Niger and Nigeria as well as South Sudan, Ghana Senegal, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.

The Mediterranean has been ravaged by bad weather this year, reducing the number of departures from North Africa and causing serious problems for those who did manage to set sail.

According to the latest Italian data, 6,117 migrants have arrived in Italy by boat this year compared with 9,215 during the same period in 2025 and 11,416 for the first three month of 2024. (Reporting and editing by Francesca Piscioneri, Gavin Jones and Alvise Armillini)

(source: Reuters)