At least six people have died and 40 remain missing following a migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations confirmed on Wednesday. Italian media reports indicate the vessel sank off the coast of Lampedusa.

"Still too many dead in a new shipwreck in the Mediterranean," said Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR’s representative in Italy, on social media platform X. She stated that the inflatable dinghy had departed from Tunisia on Monday carrying 56 people.

"After just a few hours at sea, the boat began to deflate and take on water. Six bodies have been recovered. Forty people are missing," Cardoletti added.

According to Italian media, Italy’s coast guard and financial police rescued ten survivors — six men and four women — near the small rocky island of Lampione, close to Lampedusa.

Survivors reported that the dinghy carried 56 people at departure. Only six bodies, all male, have been recovered so far. Several of the missing are believed to have fallen overboard in rough seas, according to the AGI news agency.

The migrants were reported to be from Ivory Coast, Mali, Gambia, and Cameroon.

In a separate incident, another group of 40 migrants arrived on Lampedusa after making the journey from Sfax, Tunisia, in metal boats, the ANSA news agency reported.

A total of five migrant landings occurred on the island on Tuesday, involving 213 people. The number of migrants currently housed in Lampedusa’s reception center has reached 230, ANSA said.

According to Italy’s Interior Ministry, approximately 8,743 migrants have arrived in Italy so far this year — a slight increase compared to the same period last year.