Survivors rescued from a deflating dinghy in the Mediterranean say 50 people died on their journey.
The group of migrants set off from Libya a week ago with 75 people on board, including some women and at least one small child, the survivors added.
A total of 25 people – all of them male – were spotted on board a dinghy on Wednesday by the humanitarian rescue group SOS Mediterranee.
The charity’s ship, Ocean Viking, spotted the struggling rubber vessel.
The boat’s motor had broken during the journey, leaving the migrants adrift.
Of the 25 survivors, two people were unconscious and were evacuated by the Italian military for treatment.
The other 23 were in a serious condition, suffering from exhaustion, dehydration and burns from fuel, the charity added.
SOS Mediterranee spokesman Francesco Creazzo said 12 of the survivors were children. Two of those are not yet teenagers, he said.
They were from Senegal, Mali and The Gambia, he added.
The UN International Organisation for Migration says that, prior to the latest deaths, 227 people have died while taking the perilous central Mediterranean route this year. That’s out of a total 279 deaths in the Mediterranean since 1 January.
A total of 19,562 people arrived in Italy using that route during the same period, it added.
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
