At least 14 migrants died in the waters off southern Italy in two separate incidents overnight, coastguard officials said on Sunday. Six of the victims died when their 23-metre-long vessel sank near the Calabrian coast. More than 113 others on board survived, swimming to shore.
The second incident involved a shipwreck off Sicily in which another eight migrants died. Authorities say the overall number of migrants landing on Italian shores has dropped sharply this year, but hundreds continue to arrive each week in overcrowded, rickety vessels that capsize long before they reach the coast.