On Sunday, a wooden boat carrying over 200 migrants off the coast of southern Italy sank in the Ionian Sea, resulting in the deaths of over 40 migrants, including a months-old baby.
The accident occurred near the coastal town of Crotone in the Calabria region. The Italian coast guard and firefighters recovered more than 40 bodies, while another 80 people were rescued.
The survivors told rescuers that the boat broke apart at dawn in the rough sea. The nationality of the migrants has not been disclosed.
Wooden debris and materials were scattered across the sand, and multiple bodies, including three pulled by a strong current far from the wreckage, were recovered by firefighters, including rescue divers.
The nationalities of the migrants were not immediately known. While it was unclear where the boat had set out from, migrant vessels arriving in Calabria usually depart from Turkish or Egyptian shores.
Many of these boats, including sailboats, often reach remote stretches of Italy’s long southern coastline unaided by the coast guard or humanitarian rescue vessels.
The Italian government is committed to preventing departures and tragedies like this, according to far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the post-Fascist Brothers of Italy party.
However, critics have blamed the new law on rescuing would-be migrants, passed by the government a few days before the latest tragedy, for increasing the number of drownings in the central Mediterranean.
The new law requires migrant aid vessels to make only one rescue attempt at a time, and it is considered the most dangerous crossing in the world for people seeking asylum in Europe.
Pope Francis offered a prayer for the victims of the boat crash during his morning Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City, expressing deep pain over the deaths and thanking emergency services and volunteers who are assisting migrants.
The tragedy comes as Italy grapples with a surge in migrant arrivals, with nearly 14,000 migrants arriving by sea so far this year, up from 5,200 over the same period last year and 4,200 in the first two months of 2021.
The government in Rome accuses rescue charities of encouraging migrants to attempt the crossing and boosting the fortunes of human traffickers.
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