A U.N. official reported on Monday that one woman had died, two were missing, and 87 migrants were rescued after a shipwreck near the Italian island Lampedusa.

Lampedusa is located between Tunisia and Malta, and the larger Italian Island of Sicily. It's the first port-of-call for migrants trying to reach Europe from North Africa. This has been one of the most dangerous sea crossings in the world.

Flavio di Giacomo, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, said that migrants were rescued first by a Tunisian fisherman and then picked up later by Italian coastguards. They arrived at Lampedusa around 4 am (0200 GMT) according to IOM spokesperson Flavio.

He described such boats as "floating caskets" after they had left Tunisia in a flimsy, metal boat.

"We're trying to determine if there are any other missing people besides the one who was found." He added, "Probably there are two."

Di Giacomo reported that another group of 80 migrants, including two or three women pregnant and children, landed on Lampedusa over night after a "dramatic crossing" in extremely rough weather.

He said that they were fortunate to have survived, considering the conditions at sea. The group left Libya Friday in a rubber dinghy.

According to the IOM more than 25,000 migrants died or went missing along the central Mediterranean route connecting North Africa to Italy since 2014. This includes 1,810 deaths last year and 542 so far this year. (Reporting and editing by Ros Russell. Alvise Armellini)

(source: Reuters)