ISTANBUL

A boat carrying irregular migrants attempting to cross from Africa to Europe capsized off Lampione Island in the Mediterranean, leaving at least six people dead and 40 missing, local sources said on Wednesday.

Italian authorities rescued 10 migrants from the capsized boat off Lampione Island, west of Lampedusa, while recovering the bodies of six others, the Italian news agency ANSA reported.

The boat was intercepted on Tuesday afternoon by Italian Coast Guard and Financial Police vessels near Lampione Island, located off the coast of Lampedusa.

In the aftermath of the disaster, 10 survivors -- six men and four women -- were rescued, and six bodies were recovered.

The survivors, who were transported to Lampedusa, recounted their harrowing experience, explaining that they had set off from the Tunisian port city of Sfax late Sunday night aboard the rubber dinghy.

Less than 24 hours into the journey, while in international waters, the boat encountered rough seas, causing several passengers to fall overboard.

According to initial reports, the migrants had departed from Sfax, Tunisia on March 16, with a total of 56 people on board.

Italy's Interior Ministry reported that 8,743 irregular migrants arrived in the country via the Mediterranean between Jan. 1 and March 18, slightly exceeding the 8,630 recorded during the same period last year.

Meanwhile, data from the International Organization for Migration indicates that 140 migrants have gone missing in the Central Mediterranean since the beginning of the year.