Six people have been found dead and 40 others are missing after a rubber boat carrying migrants capsized in the central Mediterranean, the Italian branch of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday.

Ten people, four women and six men, were rescued and are on the Italian island of Lampedusa where they are receiving assistance from the UNHCR, the IRC (International Rescue Committee) and the Italian Red Cross, a source from the High Commission said, adding that the coast guard is continuing the search for the missing.

According to Italian media, the shipwreck occurred off the Italian island of Lampedusa.

"The survivors say they left Sfax, Tunisia, on March 17, and that there were 56 of them. After a few hours of sailing, the dinghy began to deflate and take on water. Six bodies found. 40 missing," wrote Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR representative in Italy, on X.

The group was traveling in a rubber dinghy about 10 meters long. It included Cameroonians, Ivorians, Malians, and Guineans, according to a UNHCR source.

According to their account, they left on Monday evening but after a few hours, the dinghy began to deflate and several people fell into the water.

Having come to power in 2022, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the post-fascist Fratelli d'Italia (FDI) party, made the fight against immigration one of her main campaign promises, even though Italy has long been on the front line when it comes to the phenomenon of migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

She had pledged to end migrant landings and speed up repatriations.

His government has worked to hamper the work of NGOs rescuing migrants at sea and has promoted the signing of agreements at European Union (EU) level with countries of departure, particularly Tunisia.

It also signed an agreement with Albania to set up centres for asylum seekers there, although these are currently empty, pending a decision by the European Court of Justice.

Since the beginning of the year and up to March 18, 8,743 migrants have landed in Italy, compared to 8,630 during the same period in 2024, according to the Interior Ministry website.