One-year-old twin girls missing after migrant crossing to Italy: NGO

Dozens of people rescued in Lampedusa after vessel crossed from Tunisia in dangerous conditions, Save the Children says.Published On 23 Jan 2026One-year-old twin girls are missing at sea after a boat carrying dozens of migrants and refugees reached the Italian island of Lampedusa this week, nonprofit group Save the Children has said.The organisation said on Friday that 61 people, including the missing twins’ mother and 22 unaccompanied minors, were rescued from the vessel a day earlier after crossing to Lampedusa in “extremely difficult conditions” made worse by Cyclone Harry.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Bodies of 17 people found in boat off of Greece’s Cretelist 2 of 3At least seven dead, dozens missing as migrant boat capsizes off The Gambialist 3 of 3France bans 10 far-right UK activists for targeting migrant boatsend of list“They described having departed from Tunisia, braving stormy seas for at least three days, and arriving in a state of great physical and psychological distress,” Save the Children said in a statement.A man died after disembarking the boat, the group added.The Central Mediterranean is the deadliest known migration route in the world, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).Forty-nine people, including 12 children under age five, died last October when their boat capsized after leaving the Tunisian coastal village of Salakta.“Nearly 1,000 deaths and disappearances have been recorded in the Central Mediterranean this year [2025], with the death toll since 2014 reaching more than 25,000,” the IOM said at the time.“At least 30 children have lost their lives off the coast of Tunisia already this year [2025], compared to 22 in all of 2024.”Tunisia has seen an increase in departures in recent years, according to the IOM’s Missing Migrants Project, which tracks crossings.And in 2020, Tunisian nationals made up more than 60 percent of the Central Mediterranean crossings, the IOM said, as the country faced high unemployment rates as well as deepening socioeconomic and political hardships.