At least forty migrants, including a few-month-old newborn baby, died after their boat sank at dawn near the Italian town of Crotone in Calabria (south), the Italian Coast Guards said on Sunday.
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“Currently, 80 people have been recovered alive, some of whom managed to reach shore after the sinking, and 43 bodies have been found along the shore,” said a Coast Guard statement released late this morning.
“Dozens and dozens have drowned, including children, many are missing. Calabria mourns this terrible tragedy,” Regional President Roberto Occhiuto said in a statement.
According to the Coast Guard, the boat was carrying around 120 people and broke up on the rocks a few meters offshore, with firefighters calling “more than 200 people” on board the boat.
Italian police footage shows debris scattered over hundreds of meters of beach, where many rescuers and survivors waited to be taken to a reception center.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her “deep pain” and in a press release judged “criminal to put a nearly 20 meter long boat with 200 people on board and a bad weather forecast to sea”.
“The government is committed and will continue to work to prevent exits and with them these types of tragedies, which above all requires the greatest cooperation from the countries of origin and origin,” assured Ms. Meloni.
The new shipwreck comes just days after Parliament passed controversial new rules from the far-right government on migrant rescues.
Ms Meloni, leader of the Fratelli d’Italia party (FDI, far right), took the helm of a coalition executive in October after pledging to reduce the number of migrants arriving in Italy.
The new law requires humanitarian vessels to conduct only one rescue at a time, which critics say increases the risk of death in the central Mediterranean, which is said to be the world’s most dangerous crossing for migrants.
For Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, this “tragedy shows (…) how absolutely necessary it is to take decisive action against the channels of illegal immigration”.
Italy’s location makes it a top destination for asylum seekers crossing into Europe from North Africa, and Rome has long complained about the number of arrivals on its territory.
According to the Interior Ministry, nearly 14,000 migrants have landed in Italy since the beginning of the year, compared with around 5,200 in the same period last year and 4,200 in 2021.
However, non-governmental organizations transport only a small percentage of migrants attempting to arrive in Europe, with most being rescued by Coast Guard or Navy vessels.
However, the government accuses the NGOs of promoting the arrival of migrants and encouraging human traffickers through their actions.
“People at sea must be rescued at all costs, without punishing those who help them,” Carlo Calenda, ex-minister and leader of the centrist Azione party, responded on Twitter on Sunday.
“It is humanly unacceptable and incomprehensible why we are witnessing preventable tragedies here,” MSF wrote on Twitter.