At least 30 migrants have reportedly drowned after a boat broke apart off Italy’s southern coast on Sunday.
Italy’s RAI state radio said the vessel was carrying over 100 migrants when it ran into trouble at dawn, quoting unidentified port authorities close to the coastal town of Crotone.
Rescue efforts were launched to involving vessels from the coast guard, border police and firefighters.
A boat of migrants ran aground off Steccato di Cutro, in the province of Crotone in Southern Italy, the country’s institutional agency for fire and rescue service Vigili del Fuoco said.
The service reported around 40 survivors, adding that an intervention was underway.
ANSA and other news outlets in the country said that around 30 bodies were discovered washed up on the shores at the seaside resort, and three other bodies were found in the water.
The boat, which was bringing migrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, fell victim to rough sea weather and crashed against rocks, Adnkronos news agency said.
News agency AGI put the number of bodies recovered at 27 and said that a baby a few months old was among the dead.
As yet, no further details on the incident have been given by coast guard and other rescue services.
A record 45,728 people made the crossing in small boats last year, up over 60 percent on 2021.
It comes as the UK’s asylum backlog rose to 160,000 for the first time since current records began, with 160,919 migrants claiming refugee status yet to receive a decision on their claim by the end of December last year.
Home Office figures published on Thursday showed this figure was up 60 percent from 100,564 for the same period in 2021 and is the highest number since current records began in 2010.
In December, Rishi Sunak pledged to reduce the backlog by the end of the following year and vowed to “stop the boats” crossing the Channel.
But the target means the Government only has around 10 months to clear 92,601 initial asylum claims which were in the system as of the end of June last year.
By Chris Samuel@chrisjesamuel
