ROME, Aug 9, 2023 (BSS/AFP) - Forty-one migrants including three children are 
feared dead after a shipwreck last week in the Mediterranean, UN agencies 
said, citing four survivors brought to the Italian island of Lampedusa 
Wednesday.

Their metal boat overturned during bad weather during the night of Thursday 
to Friday after setting off from the Tunisian port of Sfax, said a joint 
statement from the UN agencies for refugees, children and migration.

The survivors -- a 13-year-old boy on his own, a woman and two men -- were 
rescued by a merchant ship and brought to Lampedusa by the Italian 
coastguard, they said.

In a separate statement, the Italian Red Cross, which manages the migrant 
reception centre on the island, said the four were generally in good health.

It confirmed the testimony that there had been 45 people on the boat when it 
went down, adding that none of those missing were related to the survivors.

The four managed to survive the shipwreck by floating on inner tubes, it 
said.

The shipwreck is one of several deadly incidents reported in recent days 
after a period of bad weather.

Officials on Monday had reported that 16 migrants died in shipwrecks off the 
coasts of Tunisia and Western Sahara.

And on Sunday, the UN's migration agency, the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), said at least 30 people were missing after two shipwrecks 
off Lampedusa.

The tiny island, located just 90 miles (around 145 kilometres) from Tunisia, 
is the first port of call for many migrants heading from North Africa to 
Europe.

But many of them do not survive, making the Central Mediterranean migrant 
crossing the world's deadliest.

More than 1,800 people died attempting the route so far this year, according 
to IOM figures from Friday -- the toll from the latest shipwrecks brings that 
to almost 1,900.

This is more than double the same period last year, IOM spokesman Flavio di 
Giacomo said, adding that this was likely to be an underestimate.