Over 70 migrants missing, 2 dead after boat capsizes in Mediterranean

The organization Mediterranean Saving Humans announced that 32 people were rescued after the boat, which set sail from Libya on Saturday afternoon carrying 105—men, women, and children—sank.

The organization added: "A tragic shipwreck on Easter Sunday. 32 survivors, two bodies recovered, and more than 70 people missing," explaining that the wooden boat capsized in a search and rescue area under the control of Libyan authorities.

Meanwhile, the organization Sea-Watch reported that the survivors were rescued by two commercial vessels and disembarked on Sunday morning on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

A video published by the organization on X, apparently filmed by the surveillance aircraft Sea Bird 2, shows men clinging to the overturned boat's hull as it drifts at sea, before a commercial vessel approaches it.

Mediterranean Saving Humans said, "We share the pain with the survivors and their families and loved ones. This is not a tragic accident; it is the result of policies by European governments that refuse to open safe and legal routes of entry."

Lampedusa is a key landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa. Many perish while making this dangerous journey.

Since the beginning of this year, 683 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Italy's Interior Ministry reported that 6,175 migrants have reached Italian shores during the same period, according to the latest figures released on April 3rd.

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ANHA