Late Saturday, the coast guard received an emergency call about a boat with Syrian, Egyptian, and Bangladeshi migrants approximately 17 miles southeast of Syracuse.
Rescue operations began with the deployment of a patrol boat and plane.
As the patrol boat approached, the boat’s occupants ended up in the water, according to the coast guard’s statement.
Despite 34 people being rescued from the water and brought onto the patrol boat before being taken to Syracuse’s port, one died upon arrival and another passed away after being admitted to the hospital.
The statement noted, “A search is currently underway for a missing person who was on board the vessel, which later sank.”
The coast guard is investigating how the migrants ended up in the water as the boat neared.
According to the International Organization for Migration, at least 384 migrants died in the first quarter of this year while crossing the central Mediterranean route toward Italy and Malta.