Dozens killed after boat carrying migrants breaks apart on Italian coast

Forty-five people died, including several children, when a wooden sailboat carrying migrants hit rocks off Italy’s southern coast on Sunday, authorities said.

The ship had sailed from Turkey a few days ago with migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed in stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a coastal resort on the east coast of Calabria.

The provisional death toll is 45, Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, told Reuters. Eighty-one people survived, and 22 were taken to hospital, he said.

One survivor was arrested on charges of migrant trafficking, the Guardia di Finanza customs police said.

The mayor of Cutro, Antonio Ceraso, said women and children were among the dead. Exact numbers for the number of children killed are not yet available.

His voice screeching, Ceraso told SkyTG24 news channel that he had seen “a spectacle you will never want to see in your life… a terrible sight…

The wreckage of a wooden gulet, a Turkish sailing vessel, is scattered along the wide shore.

Curra said the ship left Izmir in eastern Turkey three or four days ago, adding that survivors said there were 140 to 150 people on board.

The survivors were mostly from Afghanistan, with some from Pakistan and some from Somalia, he said, adding that identifying the nationals who died was more difficult.

“Many of these migrants are coming from Afghanistan and Iran, fleeing a very difficult situation,” said Italian President Sergio Mattarella.

Initial reports from ANSA and other Italian news agencies said 27 bodies washed up on the beach and more were found in the water.

Ignazio Mangione, an Italian Red Cross official, told SkyTG24 that some of the children believed to be on the boat survived.

‘Very sad’ for his death

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed “deep sadness” over the death. Blaming the human traffickers, he promised to block the departure of the sea of ​​migrants to prevent the disaster.

His right-wing government has clamped down on migration since taking office in October, mostly by restricting the activities of migrant rescue charities with tough new legislation that won final parliamentary approval on Thursday.

Meloni accused the charity of encouraging migrants to make the dangerous sea journey to Italy, as a “pull factor.”

Rescue groups warned against obstructing NGOs

Amal denied this, saying the migrants left regardless of whether a rescue ship was nearby.

“Stopping, hindering and obstructing the work of NGOs [non-governmental organizations] it will only have one effect: the death of vulnerable people who are left without help,” Spanish migrant rescue charity Open Arms said in reaction to Sunday’s shipwreck.

In a separate statement, Italy’s Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said it was important to stop the sea crossings which he said offered migrants an “illusory illusion of a better life” in Europe, adding to traffickers and causing the tragedy.

Pope Francis, the son of Italian immigrants to Argentina and a vocal advocate for migrant rights, said he was praying for all those caught up in the shipwreck.

Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea, with many looking to travel to wealthier northern European countries. The central Mediterranean route is said to be one of the most dangerous in the world.