By Baris Seckin
ROME (AA) - Eight people including a child died when a migrant boat attempting to cross the Mediterranean sank.
The Italian Coast Guard intervened, and their patrol boats managed to take many of the people on board, according to Italy’s ANSA news agency
The coast guard, which rescued 23 people, said the boat capsized around 55 kilometers (34 miles) southeast of Lampedusa island in international waters.
In the initial statements of those rescued, it was mentioned that there were other people lost at sea when the boat sank, but their number is unknown.
Among the eight deceased, some died from hypothermia.
Filippo Mannino, the mayor of Lampedusa, said another tragedy at sea has shaken their island, referring to the boating accident.
"Just now, eight bodies, including that of a little girl, were brought. This has become an endless count. The sea conditions are terrible and human traffickers continue to send these poor, desperate people on small boats that can't even stay afloat. It's always the same story. Many pay to die at sea,” Mannino said.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 385 migrants have been lost at sea in the central Mediterranean from the beginning of the year until April 8.
According to Italy’s Interior Ministry, the number of irregular migrants who arrived in the country by sea from Jan. 1 to April 10 this year totaled 15,774 compared with 31,128 during the same period last year.
The flow of migration and subsequent boating accidents continues in the central Mediterranean, one of the commonly used irregular migration routes from Africa to Europe.
*Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul