On board there were also a child and 8 women, some of them were pregnant.
They sailed from Lybia on an inflatable boat and had remained without food for about a week. Because of rough sea the boat was damaged and the motor jammed. Some were swept into the sea, others perished because of lack of food, according to the first testimonies. Surivivors have been detained in the detention centre of Safi on the island of Malta.

Spain: At least 20 migrants from Africa have died at sea, according to the Red Cross after talking to survivors arrived to Malaga in the south of Spain.

In 2007 the deaths in the same area were 921 according to Apdh-a , an Andalucian human rights organisation.
Medicins Sans Frontiers talks of 380 deaths in the sea between Sicily and the African coast in the first semester 2008, and 500 deaths in 2007.
According to Fortress Europe the deaths in the same waters would amount to 12.566 and 4.646 missing people since 1988.
(As these numbers are based on people of whom there is some record, the real numbers are certainly higher).