At least 990 refugees and migrants have died this year while attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The Italian coastguard has recovered 10 bodies after a boat carrying nearly 60 refugees and migrants capsized near the island of Malta.

A fishing boat rescued 48 people from the Mediterranean Sea after their craft overturned on Sunday, the coastguard said, adding that it capsized about 45 nautical miles (83km) east-southeast of Malta after leaving Libya.

“The Italian coastguard ⁠immediately dispatched a ⁠patrol boat to the area, which has so far recovered 10 ‌bodies. Search operations in the area are continuing, coordinated ‌by ‌the Maltese authorities,” its statement added.

It is the latest in a series of boat wrecks in the Mediterranean this year, as refugees and migrants continue to risk their lives in a desperate attempt to reach Europe.

The beginning of this year was among the deadliest in the Mediterranean since 2014, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM reports that at least 990 people have died attempting to cross the Mediterranean this year. Last year, at least 2,180 people died or went missing.

The latest deaths come after European Union politicians and member states agreed in principle on a new set of rules that would allow governments to deport asylum seekers whose claims have been rejected to third countries.

The deal, which was discussed on Monday, was first proposed by the European Commission last November.

‘Return hubs’

Under the proposed framework, which still requires formal approval, so-called “return hubs” would be established outside the EU but it has not announced where.

Earlier this week, hundreds of demonstrators protested outside the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) headquarters in Libya’s capital Tripoli, accusing it of seeking to settle undocumented migrants there.

Protester held signs reading: “Our love for our country is not racism” and “Libya is not the world’s garbage bin”.

The UN agency in Libya, UNSMIL, affirmed the rights of all Libyans to express their opinions, but warned about the spread of “misleading information and hate speech” regarding its work in the country, “which contributes to increased tensions and incitement against the UN national and international officials”.