Dozens dead as boat carrying migrants, refugees sinks off Italy

Forty-three people have died and 80 have been rescued after a boat carrying migrants and refugees sank off the Italian coastal city of Crotone in the southern region of Calabria.

The shipwreck on Sunday took place near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the coast of Calabria, the region that forms the tip of Italy’s boot, Al Jazeera reports.

The Italian coastguard said in a statement on Twitter that rescue operations were ongoing.

Italy’s news agency ANSA added that the search for survivors was continuing despite stormy seas.

AGI news agency quoted a rescue worker as saying the overcrowded vessel split apart because of the violent waves. It put the number of recovered bodies at 27, including a months-old baby.

State TV said the boat was carrying more than 100 migrants and refugees from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka when it ran into trouble at dawn in the Ionian sea.

By mid-morning, about 40 survivors had been found, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for firefighters who were involved in rescue efforts. Some survivors made it to shore on their own.

It was not immediately clear where the boat had set out from, but vessels with migrants and refugees arriving in Calabria usually depart from Turkish or Egyptian shores.

Many of these boats reach remote stretches of Italy’s long southern coastline unaided by the coast guard or humanitarian rescue vessels.

The latest such tragedy comes just days after Italy’s hard-right government pushed through parliament a controversial new law on rescuing refugees and migrants.