Boat carrying irregular migrants sinks in Mediterranean, 20 missing

ROME

At least 20 people are missing and 34 others were rescued after a boat carrying irregular migrants sank in the Mediterranean.

The 7-meter-long boat capsized in the Italian rescue area. A fishing boat saved 34 irregular migrants, including eight women and six children, and recovered one body, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday.

The body and the rescued migrants, who reportedly departed Tunisia, North Africa on Saturday, were taken to Lampedusa island aboard Italian Coast Guard patrol boats.

The migrants said 20 others were missing, and the Italian Coast Guard is searching for them.

A total of 819 irregular migrants have reached Lampedusa on 21 boats over the past 24 hours, the agency added.

Italian Interior Ministry figures showed that over 36,600 irregular migrants have reached the country by sea since Jan. 1, compared to about 9,000 people last year.

The Mediterranean Sea is an important route for irregular migration flow to Europe.

Migrants' boats in distress seeking help are usually rescued by European NGOs instead of European authorities.

Irregular migrants who reach Europe by their own means usually first land on Lampedusa, the Italian territory closest to North Africa.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara