Rome, 29 March 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Three people, including a four-month-old baby, are missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Italian island of Lampedusa, Italian news agency Ansa reported on Friday.

German aid organization CompassCollective said the crew of its sailing vessel Trotamar III operating in the Mediterranean had located an overcrowded and unseaworthy metal vessel on Thursday evening.

During a rescue operation, the three people fell into the water, it said.

According to CompassCollective, 45 people had been aboard the boat, with the crew able take 31 aboard the sailing vessel.

Another 11 people were taken aboard by the Italian coast guard alerted by the organization.

Coastguard patrol boats are still searching for the three missing people, Ansa reported late on Friday afternoon. However, they are assumed to have drowned.

Deadly disasters repeatedly occur on the dangerous crossing from North Africa to Europe, which many undertake in small and unfit boats. Many migrants are trying to reach the small island of Lampedusa due to its proximity to the Tunisian coast.

Photo: MIA archive