An infant has died of severe exposure to cold temperatures following the rescue of dozens of migrants aboard a stricken boat near the Italian Mediterranean island of Lampedusa, according to media reports on Saturday.
The newborn child, just a few weeks old, was suffering from severe hypothermia and died whilst being transported to a medical facility on the small island, local authorities told Italy's ANSA news agency.
The mother and child were said to have been among a group of around 55 migrants from several West African countries who were rescued at sea by the Italian authorities during the night.
According to other people on board, the boat had set sail from the Tunisian coast.
Situated south of Sicily and north of the North African coast, Lampedusa has long been regarded as a focal point of the migration flow from Africa across the Mediterranean to Europe.
People repeatedly lose their lives during the crossing, mostly by drowning during shipwrecks.
Pope Leo XIV, who frequently cites the plight of migrants in his appeals, plans to visit Lampedusa this summer.
At the pier in the island's harbour, where many migrant boats arrive, the head of the Catholic Church intends to bless a commemorative plaque naming the quay after Pope Francis. Leo's late predecessor visited the island in 2013.
