UNITED Nations children’s fund Unicef urged governments today to prioritise the safety of children after the latest Mediterranean shipwreck left about 20 people missing and added to a gruesome annual tally.

Among the seven survivors of the New Year’s Eve wreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa was an eight-year-old girl whose mother is among the missing, Unicef said.

The agency noted that an 11-year-old girl found floating off Lampedusa last month was believed to be the lone survivor of a migrant boat that had left Sfax, Tunisia, with about 45 people on board.