26 MIGRANTS DEAD IN LAMPEDUSA SHIPWRECK; ITALY VOWS CRACKDOWN ON SMUGGLERS AS CENTRAL MED CROSSINGS SPIKE

At least 26 people died and 60 were brought ashore after a migrant boat capsized off Italy’s Lampedusa, with search operations ongoing and the toll still provisional. Survivors said they departed near Tripoli and transferred between boats before the vessel overturned in choppy seas; Italian coastguard, aircraft and helicopters responded as UNHCR and the Red Cross assisted survivors. The tragedy fits a late-July to mid-August cluster of deadly Libya-to-Italy crossings, prompting renewed vows by Italy’s government to target smugglers and block illegal departures.