Tragedy in the Mediterranean: Migrant Crisis Persists

The Italian Coast Guard has recovered six bodies and is searching for missing migrants after a dinghy from Tunisia sank in the Mediterranean. Survivors, from various African nations, were rescued and are receiving care in Italy. Migrant numbers in Italy have risen this year despite efforts to curb arrivals.

The Italian Coast Guard has tragically recovered six bodies as rescue efforts continue for up to 40 migrants who vanished after their rubber dinghy, departing from Tunisia, sank in the central Mediterranean, according to the U.N. refugee agency on Wednesday.

Ten individuals, including four women, were saved on Tuesday and transported to Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa, where they are receiving psychological care, the Red Cross reported. Despite precarious sea conditions, aircraft from the European border agency Frontex and the Italian coast guard are aiding the search.

The survivors, mainly from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, and Mali, reported that 56 people were aboard the dinghy when it left the Tunisian port of Sfax. The boat began to deflate within a few hours. The U.N. Missing Migrant Project records a toll of over 24,506 dead or missing in the central Mediterranean from 2014 to 2024.

(With inputs from agencies.)