Shipwreck In Mediterranean Raises 2019 Migrant Death Toll To 1,071 - IOM

A shipwreck near the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, midway between Tunisia and Italy, raised this year's death toll for African migrants making the sea crossing to Europe to 1071, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), reported in a press release on Tuesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th October, 2019) A shipwreck near the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, midway between Tunisia and Italy, raised this year's death toll for African migrants making the sea crossing to Europe to 1071, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), reported in a press release on Tuesday.

"Authorities found 22 migrants who survived the disaster, while 13 bodies - all women - were recovered," the release said of the Sunday shipwreck. "As of Tuesday morning, 17 migrants remained missing, including more women and at least two children.

"

This latest tragedy brings to 1,071 the total number of deaths confirmed on the Mediterranean through October 6, nearly two thirds of those deaths coming in the waters between North Africa and Italy, the release said.

The wooden boat that wrecked on Sunday carried up to 55 migrants, with the 13 female victims believed to have come from the Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Guinea, according to survivors interviewed by the IOM.