An Italian Coast Guard ship.Image: keystone
April 1, 2026, 5:31 p.mApril 1, 2026, 5:31 p.m
More than a dozen people were found dead when a migrant boat was rescued off the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa.
As the Ansa news agency reported, citing the coast guard, the emergency services discovered 19 dead and 5 people in critical condition on the small boat. They also found 58 survivors.
A coast guard patrol boat began the rescue operation in the early hours of the morning about 85 nautical miles off Lampedusa. The emergency services then found the bodies of several migrants on the boat as well as people in critical condition, who were immediately taken to Lampedusa.
The exact background is not clear. Ansa reported that the people left the Libyan coast for Europe a few days ago. However, during the crossing the weather conditions deteriorated with strong winds and continuous rain at around ten degrees. Possibly hypothermia could be the cause of death.
People keep losing their lives on the crossing
For many years, Lampedusa has been considered one of the focal points of migration from Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe. People repeatedly die on the crossing, mostly by drowning after shipwrecks. This winter alone, in which particularly severe storms were recorded, the number of deaths is estimated at more than 1,000. (sda/dpa)