At least 43 people died, including a newborn. They were presumably asylum seekers from the Middle East.
At least 43 people have died after a shipwreck off the rocky coast of Calabria, including a baby, the Guardian reports.
According to a statement from the Italian fire service, some of the bodies were washed up by the sea on a beach popular with tourists, near Steccato di Cutro. According to the reports of the survivors, there were approximately 250 people on board before the shipwreck, fifty people have been rescued alive so far.
“This is something we never wanted to see. The sea continues to wash up corpses, including those of women and children” – said the mayor of the settlement, Antonio Ceraso, adding that asylum seekers arriving by boat have been in trouble before, but they have not yet experienced a tragedy like this.
The ship is believed to have arrived from Turkey, with mainly Iranian, Afghan and Pakistani refugees on board. Rai News reported that the ship simply broke in two in the stormy sea, leaving no time to call for help – the remains can be seen 2-300 meters along the coast. Members of the Italian Coast Guard and Red Cross, as well as police and firefighters, are also involved in the rescue. The number of victims has been steadily increasing in the past hours, and this is expected to continue until the end of the rescue. In a statement, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her deep regret for “the lives ruined by human traffickers” and stressed that her government will do everything possible to prevent the departure of such ships and, with it, tragedies like the current one.
24.hu
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