Migrant crisis tragedy as newborn baby among 27 dead after boat capsizes off Italian coast

A newborn baby, and at least 26 others, have died after a migrant boat capsized off the Italian coast.

The incident occurred on Wednesday, 14 miles south of the island of Lampedusa.

According to local media, twenty bodies have already been recovered, including six found under the capsized boat.

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The coast guard released a statement which put the death toll at 27, but said this was "provisional and being updated".

Filippo Ungaro, a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said 60 survivors had been brought to a centre in Lampedusa.

It is believed there were between 92 and 97 migrants on board the boat when it capsized.

According to survivor accounts, the migrants were split across two boats when they left Tripoli, Libya.

However, the passengers were transferred to all be on one boat when the other began to take on water.

The boat, made of fibreglass, then capsized due to overloading.

While it is not know how long the migrants had been at sea, Lampedusa Mayor Filippo Mannino said the incident had happened "presumably at dawn".

On social media, Mr Ungaro wrote: "Deep anguish over yet another shipwreck off the coast of Lampedusa, where UNHCR is now assisting the survivors."

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According to the UN agency, 675 migrants have died so far this year trying to make the dangerous central Mediterranean crossing, not including the latest sinking.

The migration route which crosses from northern Africa to southern Europe is considered one of the most dangerous in the world.

In the past decade, almost 24,500 people have died or disappeared on the crossing.

Most of these are attributed to small boats which have set off from Tunisia and Libya.

In the first six months of this year, Italy has seen a 16 per cent increase in the number of migrants and refugees arriving by sea, up to 30,060, according to the UNHCR.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni made fighting illegal immigration a top priority for her right-wing government.

She pledged on Wednesday to continue combatting "unscrupulous traffickers".

In a statement, Meloni said: "That today's tragedy occurred despite a ready and operational international response warns us that the necessary rescue effort is not sufficient and, above all, does not address the root causes of this tragic problem."