The Italian coast guard rescued 46 people and found eight bodiesamong them this one pregnantafter the detection of a vessel in its territorial waters Maltathe ANSA news agency reported in the early hours of the morning today.

The vessel was spotted by the Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s special police force responsible for financial crimes) in Malta’s search and rescue zone as it approached the small island Lampedusa (south), explained ANSA.

It was carrying dozens of people who had departed from the coast of northern Africa, according to the agency. Among the dead are three women, one pregnant. Among the 46 rescued there are two other pregnant women.

The mayor of Lampedusa, Filippo Manino, addressed appeal to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni not to leave his island alone in dealing with this “enormous tragedy”.

“Please help us, we can’t go on like this,” Manino told ANSA, as he headed to the island’s port.

As APE-MPE notes, every year, tens of thousands of people who leave their countries to escape armed conflicts or poverty try to reach Europe, in the hope that they will find a better life, sailing the Mediterranean mainly from Libya, whose coasts are some 300 kilometers from Italy. The vessels they board often carry far more people than they can fit and are anything but safe.

In 2022, around 2,000 migrants and refugees were lost in the Mediterranean, including nearly 1,400 in the central Mediterranean, which is by far the most dangerous maritime migration route in the world, according to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).