Forty-one people are believed to have died after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Tunisia, Italian state RAI television reported on Wednesday, citing four survivors.
According to RAI and ANSA news agency, the four were first rescued by the Maltese-flagged bulk carrier Rimona in the Straits of Sicily.
They were then transferred to the Italian coast guard, which brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.
The island, which is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland, is a frequent destination for migrant smugglers.
Alessandra Filograno, a spokeswoman for the Italian Red Cross, told AP news agency that four people had arrived at the Lampedusa centre on Wednesday.
Neither ANSA nor RAI provided attribution for the information but reported the four survivors – who hailed from Cote d'Ivoire and Guinea – as saying that 41 people died, including three children.
This summer, there have been numerous shipwrecks of smugglers’ boats leaving from Tunisia bound for Italy.
According to the interior ministry, more than 93,000 migrants have arrived in Italy this year, more than twice the number during the same period in 2022.
The Italian Premier, Giorgia Meloni, whose right-wing government includes the anti-migrant League party, has galvanised the European Union to join it in efforts to urge Tunisia to crack down on smuggling operations.
