LAMPEDUSA – Thirteen bodies so far have been recovered as the search for survivors of the latest migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea continues, police sources said on Tuesday.

 The tragedy unfolded off the coast of Lampedusa on Sunday night as migrants saw patrol boats approaching. 

 All of those on board – said to be around 50 – shifted to one side of the small craft, causing it to capsize. 

 Twenty-two people have been saved with 15, including eight children, still unaccounted for.

 Thirteen corpses have been recovered – all identified as women. 

 But, according to some survivors, there were as many as 70 people on board, so the body count could become far worse, Il Fatto Quotidiano reported.

 “Among the missing there is also my sister with her baby of just 8 months,” said a woman rescued by the Coast Guard and escorted to the Lampedusa hotspot.

 “On board they were all without life jackets, if they had had them, they would all be safe now,” Agrigento deputy prosecutor, Salvatore Vella said. “On the boat, there were more than 50 of them. Most of the survivors, 13 men and nine women, were saved only thanks to the courage of the men of the Coast Guard and Finance Police.”

 The majority of migrants aboard the boat were from Tunisia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

 cc