Seven people were found dead and five others unconscious off Italy’s coast on Wednesday morning after an overcrowded boat carrying almost 60 people capsized. 

The victims were found around seven nautical miles off the coast of Lampedusa, in Italy’s search and rescue zone. 

Italy’s coast guard said that they were alerted to the emergency situation by an asylum seeker aboard the boat, who made an emergency call in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

The eight-metre boat, which was heaving with people, capsized just as a rescue operation got under way. 

Two Italian coast guard vessels were involved in the rescue operation. Seven people had died and five were unconscious by the time rescuers arrived. A pregnant woman aboard also needed urgent medical care. 

In total, 46 migrants - 29 men and 17 women - were rescued alive. 

An ATR 42 coast guard plane and Frontex helicopter were dispatched to the scene to look for other survivors. The search, which is being coordinated by Palermo’s coast guard, was still ongoing at the time of writing.