Italy: Boat Carrying Migrants Sinks Off Calabria Coast, Two Dozen Pakistanis Among 60 Dead

At least 60 migrants were killed and many more are feared missing after a boat carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Iran, to Europe sank in rough seas off Southern Italy.

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New Delhi: At least 60 migrants, including over two dozen Pakistanis, were killed and many more are feared missing after a boat sank in the rough seas off southern Italy coast. The boat, which was headed to Crotone, broke apart on Sunday. A baby was among the dead, as reported by BBC citing Italian officials. A search and rescue operation was launched after the incident took place amid bad weather.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said that over two dozen Pakistanis were on the boat that drowned after crashing against the rocks near the Southern Italian coast. “The reports of the drowning of over two dozen Pakistanis in a boat tragedy in Italy are deeply concerning and worrisome,” Sharif said in a statement, as reported by Reuters.  He further said, “I have directed the foreign office to ascertain facts as early as possible and take the nation into confidence.”

According to BBC, the migrants who died also included 12 children. The boat was carrying migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Iran. The exact number of people who were on the boat is yet to be determined.

At least 81 people survived Sunday’s accident, with 20 hospitalised including one person in intensive care, Italian authorities said, as reported by Reuters.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who visited the scene, said as many as 30 people may still be missing. Bodies were recovered from the beach at a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region, BBC reported. The vessel had been carrying "more than 200 people", which would mean more than 60 people unaccounted for, rescue workers told the news agency AFP.

Survivors are seen huddled under blankets, attended to by Red Cross workers. Some have been taken to hospital, BBC reported. "There had been landings but never a tragedy like this," the mayor of Cruto, Antonio Ceraso, told Rai News. The customs police said that one survivor was arrested on the charges of migrant trafficking. Reacting to the incident, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "deep sorrow" and blamed the deaths on traffickers.

"It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women, and children for the price of the 'ticket' they paid in the false perspective of a safe journey," she said in a statement, BBC reported. "The government is committed to preventing departures, and with them, the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so."