The result of a shipwreck off Lampedusa, Italy, is increasing. Thirteen women's bodies were rescued Monday, October 7 in the afternoon and a dozen people are still missing. According to the spokesperson of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Italy, most of the passengers were women and children from West Africa and Tunisia.

For the moment 13 bodies (all women coming from Western Africa) have been recovered, and at least 15 migrants are still missing

This tragedy shows once again the need to reinforce the presence of rescue ships at sea, especially those that are weathering the world. Https://t.co/JS4TKh1NFv

Flavio Di Giacomo (@fladig) October 7, 2019

The boat, which carried about fifty migrants, left Tunisia on Sunday. The boat sank in the night from Sunday to Monday near the Italian island of Lampedusa, said the Italian coastguard who was called for help.

Naufragio at #Lampedusa, 9 morti https://t.co/m7VTSFSzpb pic.twitter.com/pnUVl385eo

Adnkronos (@Adnkronos) October 7, 2019

As their team approached, the canoe capsized "due to the harsh weather and panic of migrants," the Italian coastguard said in a statement.

Eight children and pregnant women among the missing

The victims found are all women, some pregnant. According to some witnesses, there are eight children and other pregnant women among the missing. Twenty-two people were rescued and transported to the port of Lampedusa, off Sicily.

"We can not die like this, we must identify the sectors [of smugglers] and encourage actions to make the Mediterranean safer," said the mayor of Lampedusa, Toto Martello, after this tragedy that comes a few days after the commemoration of the tragedy of October 3, 2013.

On that day, a boat carrying about 500 African clandestine migrants was wrecked near the same island of Lampedusa, killing 366 people. The catastrophe plunged Italy into mourning and sparked the launch of the vast military rescue operation Mare Nostrum, before a succession of other shipwrecks pushed the European Union and NGOs to send relief ships.

2016, a dark year for migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean

According to IOM, about 19,000 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean as they tried to reach Europe since the sinking of Lampedusa, with 2016 remaining a black year with 5,143 people missing.

Since the beginning of the year, 1,041 migrants have lost their lives at sea. According to the organization's experts, while 2018 has been the least deadly in recent years (2,297 victims recorded), it is the most " dangerous "if we consider the relationship between the number of departure and that of death.

With AFP