Fifty-eight other people found alive during rescue involving inflatable craft in early hours of Wednesday
The bodies of 19 people have been recovered from an inflatable boat south of the island of Lampedusa by the Italian coastguard, a spokesperson told AFP.
Fifty-eight other people, including five children, were found alive during the rescue in the early hours of Wednesday and transported to Lampedusa by the coastguard, according to Roberto D’Arrigo.
Lampedusa’s mayor, Filippo Mannino, said seven people, including two children, were being treated in hospital for “hypothermia and intoxication from hydrocarbon fumes”.
The coastguard rescue took place about 85 miles off the Italian island inside Libyan search and rescue waters.
