The bodies of 19 migrants were recovered from a boat off the coast of Lampedusa on Wednesday by the Italian coastguard, the island's mayor told AFP.
Mayor Filippo Mannino said seven other migrants, including two children, were being treated for "hypothermia and intoxication from hydrocarbon fumes".
The coastguard rescue was staged some 135 kilometers (85 miles) off the Italian island, according to news agency ANSA.
The coastguard did not respond to AFP requests for information.
The rescue operation occurred in the early hours of Wednesday inside Libya's search-and-rescue zone, ANSA reported.
"All are believed to have died of hypothermia," wrote the agency, which cited strong winds, rain, and temperatures of 10C, in the area.
Lampedusa is a key landing point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa, with many dying trying the dangerous journey.
So far this year, 624 migrants have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean, according to the UN's International Organization for Migration.
Lampedusa's last migrant disaster occurred in August last year, when 27 people died in two shipwrecks off the coast.
According to the interior ministry, 6,117 migrants have landed on Italy's shores so far this year.
