Seven people have been rescued and 21 others are missing at sea after a migrant boat capsized off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, UN officials said on Wednesday.

The rescued are Syrian nationals, who told rescue teams that three children are among the missing, Italian media reported.

The Italian coast guard rescued the seven migrants and said they were sailing on a boat with 28 people on board which had left Libya several days earlier.

The coordinator of UNICEF in Italy, Nicola Dell'Arciprete, condemned "the tragic sinking of yet another ship near Lampedusa".

"Most of the survivors say that they have lost their family members. We are at the scene with our teams," he wrote on X.

The central Mediterranean is one of the deadliest sea routes for migrants. According to the UN's migration agency, IOM, more than 2.500 migrants drowned or disappeared trying to cross the Mediterranean last year.

While, so far this year, 1.047 others have drowned or disappeared.

The latest data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior shows that over 43.000 immigrants have arrived in Italy so far in 2024, which is a decrease compared to previous years./REL