At least 22 migrants lost their lives on Wednesday after two boats overturned off the Italian island of Lampedusa, with dozens still missing and about 60 people rescued, humanitarian agencies reported.

The disaster highlights the continuing dangers faced by migrants attempting to cross the central Mediterranean in overcrowded and unsafe vessels, particularly during the summer months.

The Red Cross, which manages Lampedusa’s migrant reception centre, confirmed that 56 men and four women survived the shipwreck.

The exact number of passengers aboard the two boats, which left Zawiya, Libya on Tuesday evening, remains unclear.

According to survivors, one of the boats began to capsize, prompting some migrants to move to the second boat. This vessel then became overloaded and started taking on water.

Italian news agency ANSA reported that among the first bodies transported to Lampedusa’s mortuary were a newborn, three children, two men, and two women.

“Deep anguish for the umpteenth shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, where UNHCR is now assisting the survivors. It looks to be 20 bodies found and as many missing,” wrote Filippo Ungaro, spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency, on social media.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi confirmed the disaster, noting that the shipwreck occurred 14 nautical miles from Lampedusa.

Estimates from various news outlets put the total number of migrants on the boats at around 97. A plane from Italy’s financial police first spotted the migrants in the water.

The UNHCR reported that so far this year, 675 migrants have died on the central Mediterranean route. Italy’s interior ministry added that 38,263 migrants have arrived on the country’s shores in 2025.

Piantedosi emphasized the need to prevent dangerous sea journeys from departure countries and to combat trafficking networks, saying on social media, “the episode underscores the urgency of preventing, from the countries of departure, the dangerous sea journeys and of relentlessly combating the ruthless trafficking business that fuels this phenomenon.”

The hard-right government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has strengthened cooperation with North African countries, offering funding and training in exchange for help in reducing departures.