Italian authorities report that a wooden boat carrying migrants broke apart on rocks off the coast of Calabria, killing at least 59 people, including several women, children, and infants.
The death toll is preliminary and is likely to go up. Bad weather in that part of the Mediterranean sea is hampering search efforts by making the field of debris larger.
With between 140 and 150 people on board, the ship departed from the Turkish city of Izmir three or four days ago, according to reports.
According to the Italian fire brigade, about 80 people were pulled from the water while clinging to the wreckage of the boat. They added that the survivors were from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
Human traffickers were to blame, said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. In a statement, she said “It is criminal to launch a boat just 20 meters long with 200 people on board in adverse weather”,
“It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of a ticket under the false perspective of a safe journey.”
To reduce such dangerous journeys, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi added that new measures must be put in place.
“It is essential to continue with every possible initiative to stop departures and discourage crossings in any way which takes advantage of the illusory mirage of a better life,” he said in a statement.
Stopping migrant boats became a top priority for Meloni’s hard-right government. New laws that makes it harder for NGOs to conduct rescue operations was approved by parliament this week.
In Vatican City on Sunday, in reference to the victims of the shipwreck, Pope Francis said: “I pray for each of them, for the missing, and for the other migrants who survived. I thank those who are helping them and those who are giving them assistance. May the Virgin Mary help these brothers and sisters.”
According to UNHCR records, 11,874 people have entered Italy by sea so far in 2023, 678 of whom arrived in Calabria.
Arrivals typically come from African countries rather than the Middle East and Asia, with most boats leaving from Libya.
Only 8.3 percent, 6.7 percent, and 0.7 percent of arrivals are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, respectively. The remaining people are mostly from Africa, with 13.1% of arrivals coming from Guinea and 17.3% of arrivals coming from the Ivory Coast alone.
The majority of the remaining countries are from other parts of Africa, particularly North Africa.
According to the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration, the Central Mediterranean route is the most dangerous migration route, where at least 20,334 people have died since 2014.
Author-Roberta Appiah
