At least 40 migrants, including a newborn, died this Sunday when the boat in which they were traveling sank off the coast of Calabria, in southern Italy, according to a new balance broadcast by RAI television.
The Italian broadcaster reported that there are several children among the fatalities.
Some 50 survivors have so far been rescued from the beach, but many people are missing, so authorities fear the death toll will rise.
Some Italian media reported that between 150 and 250 people were on the sunken ship.
Survivors told authorities the precarious fishing boat they were traveling on broke in half and many of its passengers fell into the water as the seas were rough.
The boat apparently hit the rocks before the migrants could call for help, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.
The recovered bodies, which include a newborn baby and several children, were washed up on the tourist beach of Steccato and, according to the Carabinieri (Italian militarized police), are scattered over several kilometres.
As rescue efforts continue, authorities question survivors to find out the circumstances of the accident and the origin of the migrants.
The local press reported that the majority are from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The tragedy occurs three days after the Italian parliament approved, on Thursday, a new immigration decree, drawn up by the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni.
Among other issues, the regulations make it mandatory to request the assignment of a port after the first rescue of a group of migrants and to go to that place without deviating to locate other vessels in danger.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have repeatedly complained that the Italian authorities have been assigning distant ports in northern and central Italy, which take up to four or five days to arrive.
These displacements lead NGOs to neglect their operations in the central Mediterranean area, where most shipwrecks of this type of vessel occur.
Source: TSF
