19 migrants boats spotted in central Med

Nineteen migrant boats were spotted in the central Mediterranean on Wednesday by the rescue charity Sea-Watch.The Italian Coast Guard rescued 83 people in the Maltese search and rescue zone on Wednesday, which was located about 10 miles from Italian waters.

The migrants were travelling in two rickety boats from Tunisia to Italy. According to Sea-Watch, the boats coming from Tunisia were overcrowded and navigating northbound from the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa.Italy has seen an increase in arrivals by sea from both the central Mediterranean route (from Tunisia and Libya) and from Türkiye.According to the United Nations' Refugee Agency, 20,995 people have reached Italy from northern Africa and Türkiye since the beginning of 2023 and 309 are reported as missing or dead.