Italy’s coast guard on Monday searched the sea and shore for bodies after a ship sank off Calabria, as the death toll rose to 62 and charities looked after children who witnessed loved ones drowning.
The overloaded wooden boat broke apart and capsized early Sunday in stormy seas off Italy’s southern coast, with bodies, shoes and debris washed ashore.
The death toll rose Monday to 62, coastguard officials told AFP – and the number appears to be rising.
Sergio di Dato, head of the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) team that provides psychological support to survivors, said there are cases of orphans in the disaster.
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“A 12-year-old Afghan boy lost his entire family, all nine – four siblings, his parents and his very close relatives,” he told reporters.
Firefighters from the town of Cutro prepared a speedboat to search the area as a helicopter flew overhead.
In Le Castella, where a 15th-century fortress dominates the coastline, an AFP reporter witnessed lifeguards recovering the body of a woman who appeared to be in her 20s.
The Save the Children charity said on Twitter it was supporting survivors from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria, including 10 minors who had traveled with their families.
“There are many missing children,” it said.
– Italian shipwreck: Loud boom heard-
The charity said survivors described “at night, near the coast, they heard a loud noise, the boat broke and everything fell into the water.”
Survivors were “shocked … some say they saw relatives fall into the water and disappear, or die”.
The boat was reported to have sailed from Izmir in Turkey last week. Three suspected traffickers were arrested and police are looking for a fourth, media reports said.
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David Morabito, a rescue diver in Calabria, told state broadcaster Rai that he had recovered the bodies of the young twins from the water.
“When you see little children who are lifeless, the images break your heart,” Morabito said.
“Many children died. Tragedy,” he added.
The disaster has fueled a debate in Italy over search and rescue measures to rescue migrants in trouble on the Central Mediterranean route, the deadliest in the world.
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Right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was elected in September, has promised to curb the influx of migrants.
His government pushed through controversial legislation last week that forces migrant aid charities to carry out only one rescue mission at a time before heading straight to ports, which are often far away.
Critics say the move violates international law and will cause more people to drown.
According to the interior ministry, almost 14,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea so far, up from 5,200 at the same time last year.