NOS News••Amended
Dozens of bodies of shipwrecked migrants have washed ashore in Italy’s far south. At least 40 people have been killed, Italian media report. Among them are several children. A baby of a few months old also died, public broadcaster RAI reports.
The boat would have departed from Turkey. The ship would have been overloaded and unable to withstand the rough seas, causing it to break in two in the Mediterranean. There would have been about 180 migrants on it when the accident happened early this morning.
About 50 people have been rescued, but many are still missing. Some have reached the coast on their own, reports the RAI. According to news agency Ansa, there are still bodies at sea that need to be recovered.
These are the first images from the beach:
First images of shipwreck and migrants received in Italy
The bodies were found on the beach at Steccato di Cutro, a coastal town near the town of Crotone. Police and emergency services are on site. Patrol boats and a Coast Guard helicopter assist in the rescue effort. Many migrants are said to come from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni said in a statement that he was “deeply saddened” by “the many lives that have been ended by people smugglers”. She wants to work with her government to prevent deadly boat trips, including by demanding “full cooperation” from the countries where the migrants come from and from which the boats departed.
Mayor Ceraso of Cutro speaks of an unprecedented tragedy for his municipality. “The sea just keeps returning bodies. That’s something you never want to see.”
In the past, migrants have often washed ashore in the south of Italy trying to reach Europe via the so-called Mediterranean route. At least 20,333 people have died or gone missing on that route since 2014, according to the International Organization for Migration.
The Italian island of Lampedusa is usually the first destination of many migrants who often cross from Libya and Tunisia. At the beginning of this month, ten more bodies of migrants were taken from a fishing boat.