Baby among nine dead from cold and thirst on boat in Mediterranean

Survivors tell Italian authorities vessel carrying about 50 people lost its way trying to cross from Tunisia

A baby was among nine people including his mother and a pregnant woman who died of cold and thirst on a boat carrying about 50 migrants across the central Mediterranean, Italian authorities have said.

Survivors who landed on the Italian island of Lampedusa after being rescued late on Thursday told investigators the four-month-old baby slipped out of the boat after his mother, who was holding him, collapsed and died from exposure.