According to media reports, at least 33 people died in a boat accident involving migrants on the southern Italian coast. The bodies were discovered on the beach in Cutro in the province of Crotone in Calabria and in the sea, the Italian news agency Ansa reported on Sunday morning, citing the police. The number of victims could still increase significantly because many bodies have not yet been recovered from the sea, it said.

According to initial information, the migrants were on a fishing boat. It broke apart in heavy seas. The people drowned. There was initially no information on the nationality of the victims and the port of departure of the cutter.

Every year, thousands of migrants try to reach Italy and thus Europe from North Africa, often on unseaworthy boats. Serious accidents happen again and again. According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, 13,067 migrants have entered the country by sea up to and including Thursday this year, more than twice as many as in the same period last year (5273).

A new law by Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government, which was passed by the Senate last week, is also making the work of civilian sea rescuers more difficult. However, the majority of migrants arrive in Italy on their own ships and boats.