21 people drowned off Italian coast including Syrians
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Italy announced on Wednesday that 21 illegal migrants drowned while aboard a boat in the Mediterranean off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
the Italian coast guard stated that seven people were rescued and 21 people were missing at sea after a migrant shipwreck off the island of Lampedusa.
Reports indicated that the survivors, all male Syrian nationals, were picked up from a semi-sunken boat about 18.5 kilometers southwest of Lampedusa.
The coast guard rescued the seven survivors, who said they were traveling on a boat that had departed from Libya a few days earlier with 28 people on board, according to Reuters.
Nicola Del Arciprete, UNICEF coordinator in Italy, condemned what he described as “another tragic drowning incident off the coast of Lampedusa.”
He wrote on X, “Most survivors say they lost family members; we are on-site with our operational teams.”