The overloaded boat crashed on a rock early Sunday morning not far from Crotone in the southern Italian region of Calabria in heavy seas. As reported by the Italian news agency AGI, citing the emergency services in Crotone, the 59 fatalities included 33 women and 12 children, including a newborn baby.
According to the coast guard, 80 people survived the accident, some of them swam to the coast themselves. While the Italian coast guard assumed around 120 people on board, rescue workers spoke of more than 200 people. A Coast Guard official said a suspected smuggler was arrested after the accident.
Italian police pictures showed debris washed up on the beach. It shows rescue workers as well as survivors waiting to be taken to a reception center.
"Calabria is in mourning after this terrible tragedy," said the region's governor, Roberto Occhiuto. According to Italian President Sergio Mattarella, many of the migrants came from Afghanistan and Iran.
Italy's right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deep pain" at the deaths. It is "criminal to let a boat that is barely 20 meters long with 200 people on board and a bad weather forecast put to sea".
Your government is committed to preventing crossings and thus "this type of tragedy". Meloni said this requires the "maximum" cooperation of the states from which refugees come to Italy.
Just a few days ago, the Italian parliament passed a controversial government law on how to deal with refugees in the Mediterranean. It forces rescue ships to only perform one salvage action per mission. According to critics, this will significantly increase the risk of deaths in the Mediterranean.
Meloni took over the official business in Rome in October. Your right-wing government announced during the election campaign that it would stop the arrival of refugees in Italy.
EU Commission President von der Leyen wrote on Twitter about a "tragedy" that made her "deeply sad". She called for greater efforts to reform EU asylum law. Pope Francis expressed his "pain". He prays for the refugees.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres wrote on Twitter that everyone who is looking for a better life has a right to "security and dignity". "We need safe, legal routes for migrants and refugees," Guterres said.
Because of its geographical location, Italy is a particularly frequent destination for migrants who want to get to Europe from North Africa. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, around 14,000 refugees have arrived in Italy since the beginning of the year. In the same period last year there were about 5300.
