At least 64 migrants, including women and children, have been confirmed dead after a wooden boat carrying refugees smashed into rocky reefs and broke apart before dawn on Sunday.
Local authorities said at least 80 people survived the disaster, but between 180 to 200 people were believed to have boarded the vessel when it left Turkey for Italy.
According to the United Nations refugee and migration agencies, there were concerns among officials that the death toll from the boat tragedy could exceed as between 20 to 30 people may still be unaccounted for as survivors reported that the vessel had been carrying up to 200 passengers when it departed from Turkey. The exact number of people who were on board is still not clear.
Pakistan’s foreign office said that four Pakistani citizens were missing and 16 had survived after a boat carrying migrants to Europe crashed on rocks near the southern Italian coast, killing dozens.
The Italian Coast Guard reported that at least 80 people had been found alive, some of whom had managed to reach the shore after the shipwreck occurred near Calabria’s coastline in the Ionian Sea. The Coast Guard’s motorboats rescued two hypothermic men and retrieved the body of a young boy.
Several days ago, the vessel carrying refugees from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia and various other countries departed from Turkey. However, it encountered stormy weather on Sunday and ultimately crashed near Steccato di Cutro, a coastal resort situated on the eastern coast of Calabria.
Many of the migrants were fleeing tough conditions, Italy’s president said.