Milan, Jan 27 (AP) Two toddlers died when a smugglers' boat sank in the central Mediterranean this weekend, while 17 others including a child were rescued, a humanitarian group said Monday.

The German rescue ship Sea Punk I recovered the body of a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old died on board the vessel while medical personnel attempted life-saving measures, said the group's spokesman Gerson Reschke. Survivors reported that several more people had drowned during the voyage, including another small child.

Also Read | January 27 Birthdays and Birth Anniversaries: Know About Famous People and Celebrities Born on January 27.

Sea Punks said that people were drifting in the water on both sides of the boat when the rescue vessel arrived in response to an emergency call. “All available rescue equipment was used to save as many people as possible,' it said in statement.

The rescue happened in a part of the Malta search-and-rescue zone that is closer to Italy's southernmost island of Lampedusa than the tiny EU island nation. A Malta rescue helicopter evacuated a pregnant woman and a severely injured man.

Also Read | January 26 Birthdays and Birth Anniversaries: Know About Famous People and Celebrities Born on January 26.

Sea Punks 1 transferred 15 survivors and the two bodies to an Italian coast guard vessel, which brought them to Lampedusa. Many showed signs of severe hypothermia, the group said.

The UN Missing Migrant Project puts the number of the dead and missing in the perilous Central Mediterranean at over 24,506 from 2014-2024, many of whom were lost at sea. The project says that number may be greater, as many deaths go unrecorded, with the sightings of so-called ghost ships with noone aboard and remains of people washing ashore in Libya not associated with any known shipwreck. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)