At least 70 bodies have been pulled from the sea and 1,200 people have been rescued after dozens of packed boats attempted to cross the Mediterranean.
Many others remain missing after a flurry of attempts to reach Europe from Tunisia, where officials say morgues are running out of space as the death toll from crossings continues to rise.
Around 1,200 people ended up on a tiny Italian island after coastguard teams responded to 35 boats that had set out from North Africa, crowded with those risking everything to reach Europe.
Three of the vessels got into difficulty, with 23 people missing. Around 20 more boats remained in the sea on Monday night, Italian rescuers said.
Dramatic video shared by the Italian coastguard showed people in the sea as rescuers tried to haul them aboard a crowded lifeboat.
One man can be heard shouting “Come on! Come on! Come on! Give me your hand! Give me your hand!” as he tries to reach a young boy holding onto a life ring.
Pic: Italian coastguard
In the coastal Tunisian city of Sfax, one judicial official painted a bleak picture of the situation in local hospitals.
“The morgues in Sfax hospitals are suffering from severe pressure because of the high number of corpses of migrants. It’s a threat to public health,” Faouzi Masmoudi said.
The bodies of at least 70 people from Africa who died attempting the dangerous crossing have been recovered since Friday, he said.
Tunisia has taken over from Libya as a main departure point for people fleeing poverty and conflict in Africa and the Middle East in the hope of a better life in Europe.
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Although Italy’s far-right prime minister Giorgia Meloni has led a crackdown on smugglers, people keep risking the perilous journey.
According to Italian Interior Ministry figures, by Monday morning more than 36,600 people had arrived in Italy since the start of the year – more than four times the number for the same period in each of the two previous years.
Italy rejects most of their asylum bids because it says they are fleeing poverty, not war or persecution.
But, since barely a handful of countries have repatriation accords with Italy, the migrants who lose asylum bids often stay on for years in a legal limbo, or try to make their way to northern European countries.
At least 570 people are believed to be dead or missing having attempted to reach Europe via the Mediterranean region in 2023, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.