40 migrants including baby dead as overcrowded boat sank in Southern Italy

More than 40 migrants, including a baby, died when their overcrowded boat sank in rough seas off the coast of southern Italy. Dozens more made it to safety.

When the boat tried to land with more than 100 people on board near the town of Crotone on the coast of Calabria, it broke up.

At a nearby beach resort, many bodies have been found on the beach.

Every year, a lot of people who are trying to get away from war or poverty make the trip from Africa to Italy.

“As of now, 80 people have been found alive,” the coastguard said in a statement. Some of them had made it to shore after the ship sank.

“Along the coast, 43 bodies have been found,” the report said.

No one knows where this boat came from, but local news outlets say that the people on board were from Iran, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Somalia.

The ship sank after it hit some rocks in rough weather, according to the Adnkronos news agency.

The Italian government has set up a big search and rescue effort on land and at sea.

Wood from the shipwreck that has been broken up and washed up on the beach, along with parts of the hull, can be seen on video.

Red Cross workers can be seen taking care of survivors who are huddled together under blankets. Some have been taken to hospital.

Antonio Ceraso, the mayor of Cruto, told Rai News, “There had been landings, but never a tragedy like this.”

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, was elected last year in part because she promised to stop the flow of migrants into Italy. She said she was “deeply saddened” by what happened and blamed the deaths on traffickers.

She said in a statement, “It is cruel to trade the lives of men, women, and children for the price of a “ticket” that gave them a false sense of safety.”

“The government is committed to stopping people from leaving, which is how these tragedies start, and will keep doing so.”

Ms. Meloni’s right-wing government has promised to stop migrants from reaching Italy’s shores. In the last few days, they have passed a tough new law that makes rescues harder.

Since 2014, more than 20,000 people have died or gone missing at sea in the central Mediterranean, according to groups that keep track of this.

Pope Francis, who often fights for the rights of migrants, has said that he is praying for the dead, the missing, and the survivors.