11 migrants killed after 2 ships sink off Italy coast

At least 11 people have died and 66 others are missing after two shipwrecks off southern Italy.

The German aid group RESQSHIP, which operates the Nadir rescue ship, said it picked up people from a sinking wooden boat, including two who were unconscious, and found 10 bodies trapped in the lower deck of the vessel.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a joint statement that the refugees and migrants intercepted by the German charity came from Syria, Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

RESQSHIP said the survivors were handed over to the Italian coast guard and taken ashore on Monday morning, while the Nadir was making its way to the island of Lampedusa, towing the wooden boat with the bodies of the deceased.