Italian minister comments on migrant boat disasters About 200 shocked survivors were plucked from the sea on Saturday after their overloaded boat sank, claiming more than 30 lives in the latest deadly migrant tragedy to hit the Mediterranean. Their boat went down off Malta on Friday near the Italian island of Lampedusa, packed with 230 to 250 men, women and children, the Maltese navy said. Images and soundbites of Italian transport and infrastructure minister Maurizio Lupi.