7 rescued, 21 missing after migrant shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa

Seven people were rescued and 21 people are missing at sea after a migrant shipwreck off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The survivors are Syrian nationals who told rescuers that three children are among the missing, Italian news reports and UN officials said on Wednesday.

The seven survivors were rescued by the coast guard and said they were travelling on a boat that had set off from Libya a few days ago, with 28 people on board.

Nicola Dell'Arciprete, UNICEF country coordinator for Italy, denounced "another tragic shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa."

"Most of the survivors claim to have lost family members. We are on the spot with our operational teams," he wrote on X.

The central Mediterranean is one of the world's deadliest migration routes. According to the UN migration agency (IOM), more than 2,500 migrants died or went missing attempting the crossing last year, and 1,047 this year, as of Tuesday.

The latest figures from the Italian interior ministry recorded that just over 43,000 migrants had reached Italy so far in 2024, well down on previous years.