At Least 27 Dead, Including Newborn, After Migrant Boat Capsizes Off Lampedusa

Migrant survivors stand on the dock after Wednesday's shipwreck

At least 27 people, including a newborn baby, have died after a boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. The tragedy occurred early Wednesday when an Italian law enforcement aircraft spotted the overturned vessel and multiple bodies floating in the water approximately 14 miles from the island.

Sixty survivors were rescued and taken to a reception center in Lampedusa, with four in critical condition rushed to hospital, according to the Italian Red Cross and UN agencies. About a dozen people remain missing, and rescue crews—using five ships, two aircraft, and a helicopter—are continuing their search amid fading hopes of finding more survivors. Authorities have warned the death toll is expected to rise, describing it as “provisional and being updated.”

Italian Coast Guard officers and members of the Italian Finance Police carry a body bag on the dock after a migrant shipwreck on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa

Officials believe between 92 and 97 migrants were on board the vessel, which departed from Libya on Tuesday evening. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported the group had originally set out on two boats from the Tripoli area. When one vessel began taking on water, passengers were transferred to a fibreglass boat, which later capsized in international waters due to severe overcrowding. Lampedusa mayor Filippo Mannino said the incident likely occurred at dawn, though it is unclear how long the migrants had been at sea.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni expressed condolences and pledged to continue efforts against human trafficking networks by preventing irregular departures and managing migration flows. She stated that the incident underscores the need to address the root causes of migration, adding that even a swift international rescue response is “not sufficient” to prevent such tragedies.

Coffins lie next to a vehicle on the dock after a migrant shipwreck on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa

The sinking adds to the alarming death toll on the central Mediterranean route, one of the world’s most dangerous migration corridors. So far in 2025, at least 675 migrants have died attempting the crossing—not including this latest disaster. Over the past decade, nearly 24,500 people have died or gone missing on the route, according to IOM data.

Most boats leave from Libya or Tunisia, often dangerously overloaded and ill-equipped to survive rough seas. The deadliest recorded shipwreck off Lampedusa occurred on October 3, 2013, when a vessel carrying more than 500 migrants from Eritrea, Somalia, and Ghana caught fire and capsized, killing at least 368 people and sparking global calls for urgent action.

The latest tragedy comes just one day after UK government figures revealed more than 50,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel from France since Sir Keir Starmer became prime minister.