Nineteen people were found dead and 58 rescued alive by the Italian coast guard, which intercepted a dinghy filled with migrants that was in distress about 80 nautical miles from the southern Italian island of Lampedusa on Tuesday night.
The Italian coast guard operated in the Libyan search and rescue area amid rough weather conditions, a spokesman said on Wednesday.
“We were the only one able to intervene, as there were no other ships or rescue teams in the area. Sea conditions were pretty extreme, with waves of more than 6-7 meters (20-23 feet),” said coast guard spokesman Roberto D’Arrigo.
D’Arrigo said the migrants had probably departed from Libya and the victims likely died of hypothermia, but the cause of the deaths still need to be verified.
The survivors were brought to Lampedusa after a 10-hour trip and are now in the care of local health services, the coast guard said.
The tiny island of Lampedusa is the main entry point to Europe for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, with thousands dying during the perilous journey.
Most of the deaths have been attributed to small boats setting off from the coasts of Tunisia and Libya.
The most recent deadly shipwreck off Lampedusa happened in August last year, when a boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized in international waters, killing at least 26 people.
