- Catherine Armstrong
- BBC News
At least 59 migrants, including a child, were killed, while dozens survived after a boat carrying them sank in rough seas off the coast of southern Italy.
The boat crashed while trying to reach a beach near the coastal town of Crotone in the Calabria region, with about 150 people on board.
The Italian authorities recovered many bodies from the beach of a resort near the sea.
Large numbers of people attempt to escape military conflicts and poverty by crossing the sea from Africa to Italy every year.
Local officials put the confirmed death toll in the latest tragedy at between 58 and 59. Earlier, the Italian coast guard said it had pulled out 80 people alive who “managed to reach the shore after the boat sank.”
Manuela Cora, a local government official, told Reuters the boat left the Turkish port city of Izmir three or four days ago.
Italian officials said most of those on board were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iran. President Sergio Mattarella said many were fleeing “very difficult circumstances”.
The customs police confirmed the arrest of one of the survivors on charges of smuggling migrants.
The boat reportedly sank after hitting rocks due to rough weather, triggering a major search and rescue operation on land and sea.
image copyright SHUTTERSTOCK
Surviving migrants after arriving in Italy receive Red Cross care
Video footage shows timber from the remains of the boat, smashed and dumped on the beach, along with remnants of parts of the hull itself.
Survivors were seen wrapped in blankets while receiving care from Red Cross workers. Some were taken to hospital.
“There have been beach landings but never a tragedy like this,” Croto’s mayor, Antonio Serraso, told Rai News.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was elected last year pledging to stem the flow of migrants into Italy, said she “deeply regretted” the incident, blaming the deaths on smugglers.
she said in a statement : “It is inhumane to trade the lives of men, women and children for the price of a ticket they have wrongly paid for a safe journey.”
Carlo Calenda, Italy’s former economy minister, said people in difficulty at sea must be rescued “at any cost”, but added that “illegal migration routes must be closed”.
image copyright EPA
Italian rescue teams on the beach
Meloni’s right-wing government has vowed to stop migrants from reaching Italy’s shores, and in recent days has pushed through a tough new law that tightens rules on rescue operations.
According to organizations monitoring the situation, more than 20,000 people have died or are missing in the central Mediterranean since 2014.
European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said she was “deeply saddened” by the incident, adding that “the loss of innocent lives is a tragedy.”
She stressed the importance of “redoubling our efforts” to make progress in reforming asylum rules in the European Union to address the challenges related to migration to Europe.
Pope Francis, who often defends the rights of migrants, said he prays for the dead, the missing and the survivors.
Regina Catrambone, director of the Maritime Aid Station for Migrants, which carries out search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, told the BBC that European countries should work together to help those in need.
It also called for an end to the “short-sighted vision”, which holds that countries closest geographically to Africa and the Middle East should take the lead in addressing this issue.
She stressed that there was still “no cooperation between European countries to coordinate effectively to go and help those in need,” and urged governments to work together to improve search and rescue efforts and develop safe and legal routes.
