The decomposed bodies are believed to be migrants from a boat that capsized earlier this week in Libyan waters.

Reuters reported that bodies, believed to be of migrants missing from a shipwreck, were recovered off the coast of Italy on Sunday, according to local media. The decomposed bodies were discovered near the island of Sicily, which is located off the southwestern tip of the Italian mainland. They were subsequently transported to another Italian island, Lampedusa, approximately 350 kilometers (217 miles) away.

The bodies are thought to be from a boat that sank earlier in the week in Libyan waters, as reported by Italian media and officials. On Wednesday, the Italian coastguard rescued seven people—all male Syrian nationals—from a half-sunken boat southwest of Lampedusa. The survivors reported that they had departed from Libya on September 1, and that 21 of the 28 people on board, including three children, had fallen into the sea due to rough weather.

One of the unnamed survivors recounted to Italian media, "We left Sabrata, Libya, on Sunday afternoon. Onboard were all Sudanese and Syrians. The boat capsized after a day at sea. Everyone fell into the water because the weather was bad and the sea was rough. We tried to save our companions but there was nothing we could do."

Rescuers believe that the bodies found are some of the 21 missing from the shipwreck, based on the coordinates where they were discovered, as reported by the Italian news agency AGI. Lampedusa mayor Filippo Mannino described the discovery as "another tragedy" in the ongoing migration crisis, expressing a loss of hope for finding the missing individuals alive following the rescue of the seven Syrians.

The central Mediterranean Sea remains one of the world’s deadliest migration routes. Last year, more than 2,500 migrants died or went missing attempting the crossing, and 1,116 have died or disappeared since the beginning of this year, according to the International Organization for Migration. So far in 2024, more than 43,000 migrants have reached Italy, a significant decrease from previous years, based on data from Italy's Interior Ministry.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who leads the far-right Brothers of Italy party, was elected in October 2022 with a campaign promise to reduce the number of migrants making the perilous journey from Africa to Europe by sea.