At least 43 Migrants Dead after Shipwreck off Italian Coast Drowned

On Sunday, the fishing boat carrying the migrants capsized off the Calabrian coast of Italy, resulting in at least 43 of them drowning.

Some 250 migrants were jammed onto the ship, which split in two approximately 20 kilometres off the coast of Crotone, according to local authorities. Although more than 100 passengers have been saved, at least 70 of those on board the ship are still unaccounted for.

Local sources state that over the course of the morning, bodies, including those of youngsters and at least one newborn baby, have washed ashore at the tourist destination of Steccato di Cutro.

The majority of the migrants who have been saved, according to the authorities, are from Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, despite the fact that the ship's port of origin was Turkey.

Matteo Piantedosi, the interior minister of Italy, described the catastrophe as "a huge tragedy that demonstrates how necessary it is to oppose the chains of irregular migration" and urged greater action against "unscrupulous smugglers" who, "in order to get rich, organise improvised trips with inadequate boats and in prohibitive conditions."

Roberto Occhiuto, the president of Calabria, criticised EU authorities for their slowness in dealing with the migratory situation and questioned what the EU had been up to all these years.

“Where is Europe when it comes to guaranteeing security and legality?” he asked, adding that regions like his were left on their own to “manage emergencies and mourn the dead.”