The Italian Coast Guard has recovered six bodies and is searching for up to 40 people missing after a rubber dinghy that departed from Tunisia sank in the central Mediterranean

Six bodies have been retrieved from the central Mediterranean by the Italian coast guard after an inflatable dinghy sank in the area, the UN refugee agency has said. The Italian authorities announced on Wednesday that they were still searching for up to 40 missing migrants.

Italian coast guard vessels have so far rescued 10 people and resumed the search for any other survivors, Italy's main news agency reported. Survivors reported that several of the 56 migrants fell into the water due to bad weather after leaving Tunisia in a dinghy.