At least 18 people died and 76 others were rescued Friday when an Italian coast guard discovered a raft packed with illegal migrants 100 miles (160 kilometers) off the coast of Lampedusa, officials said.
One survivor remains in critical condition.
“We mourn these victims and at the same time reiterate that the most important thing is defeating these merchants of death,” Italian interior minister Angelino Alfano said.
The deaths are believed to have been caused by dehydration and hypothermia following a perilous journey at sea.
The raft was discovered when the Italian coast guard and navy ships answered a distress call made from the vessel that had been travelling from Libya to reach the Italian island.
In the month since the EU's “Triton” rescue operation took over from the Italian-led “Mare Nostrum” scheme, the new operation has undertaken two other large-scale rescue operations that recovered 202 migrants.
Anadolu News Agency
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