Italy Migrant Boat Shipwreck: More Than 100 People Feared Dead

There are fears that more than 100 people, including children, have died after their boat sank in rough seas off southern Italy. At least 62 migrants are confirmed to have died, with 12 children said to be among the victims, including a baby. The vessel, thought to have carried some 200 people, broke apart while trying to land near Crotone on Sunday.

People from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran were said to be on board. Bodies were recovered from the beach at a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region. The coastguard said 80 people had been found alive, “including some who managed to reach the shore after the sinking”, meaning many more remain unaccounted for. One survivor was arrested on migrant trafficking charges, customs police said. Many of those on board were thought to be from Pakistan.

Its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday said more than two dozen Pakistanis were believed to have been among those who drowned, and has asked diplomats to verify the facts as soon as possible. As assistance and relocation operations continue, a group of survivors of the deadly shipwreck are struggling to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones.

At a temporary reception centre in the town of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, some of them were crying without speaking, some were just staring into the void, wrapped in blankets Speaking at the UN’s Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday morning, Secretary General António Guterres called on countries to do more to help refugees and migrants, and for safer travel routes and strengthened rescue operations.

“Just yesterday [Sunday], yet another horrific shipwreck in the Mediterranean claimed the lives of scores of people seeking a better future for themselves and their children. Refugee and migrant rights are human rights,” he said. He added that while criminal gangs controlled migration routes, people would continue to die: “We need safe, orderly, legal routes for migrants and refugees. And we must do everything possible to prevent the loss of life by providing search and rescue and medical care.”