One dead, more missing after Tunisian migrant boat shipwrecked off Italy
Lampedusa lies between Tunisia, Malta and the larger Italian island of Sicily and is the first port of call for many migrants seeking to reach the EU from North Africa, in what has become one of the world's deadliest sea crossings.
The migrants, initially rescued by a Tunisian fishing boat and then picked up by the Italian coastguard, arrived in Lampedusa at around 4am (2am GMT), International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesperson Flavio Di Giacomo said.
They had set off from Tunisia on a flimsy metal boat that disintegrated during navigation, he said, describing such vessels as "floating coffins".
"We are trying to see if, apart from the body that was recovered, one or two people are missing. Probably there are two," he added.
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