Four people rescued and more than 40 feared dead after boat sinks in Mediterranean – video

At least 41 people are feared to have died after a boat sank in rough seas off the Italian island of Lampedusa in the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities and the UN said on Wednesday.

Four survivors who were rescued on Wednesday morning by a Maltese bulk carrier, and eventually moved to a patrol boat from the Italian coastguard, said they had been on a vessel that set off from the Tunisian port of Sfax six days ago and sank on its way to Italy.

The people seeking asylum – a 13-year-old boy, a woman and two men from Ivory Coast and Guinea – said the precarious metal boat carrying 45 passengers had begun to take in water as soon as it reached the open sea

• More than 40 feared dead after boat sinks in Mediterranean near Lampedusa