Refugee boat sinks off Italy as UN 'counts dead at gates of Europe'

Around 40 people are missing after a refugee boat capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa, the UN said.

The shipwreck took place on Thursday and at least one newborn baby is among those missing, UNHCR representative to Italy Chiara Cardoletti said on Friday.

The vessel left from Sfax in Tunisia and was carrying 46 refugees from Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Ivory Coast, said Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesperson for the UN migration agency IOM. The boat capsized in strong winds and high waves, he said.

"Some survivors were taken to Lampedusa and others were brought back to Tunisia".

"Among those missing were seven women and a minor. The survivors are all adult men", he added.

"We have noticed more arrivals of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa than Tunisians" via the Tunisian route since November, he said.

He explained this was due to people from sub-Saharan Africa fleeing discrimination in Tunisia.

"It is unacceptable to continue counting the dead at the gates of Europe", Cardoletti said.

Surge in refugee migration

At least 12 African refugees and migrants were missing and three died after three boats sank off Tunisia, a judicial official said on Thursday, while the country's coastguard rescued 152 others.

The southern Italian island of Lampedusa is one of the main entry points for refugees crossing the Mediterranean.

Last year, more than 46,000 people arrived there, out of a total of 105,000 in Italy, according to the UNHCR.

There has been a surge in migration across the Mediterranean from Tunisia this year after a crackdown by Tunis on refugees and migrants from sub-Saharan Africa living in the country illegally and reports of racist attacks amid an economic downturn.

It comes after the refugee trawler tragedy off Greece, in which hundreds went missing and scores killed.