A boat carrying more than 140 migrants smashed into rocks in heavy seas off the southern Italian coast, and at least 59 individuals, including a newborn, were among 

A boat carrying more than 140 migrants smashed into rocks in heavy seas off the southern Italian coast, and at least 59 individuals, including a newborn, were among the bodies that were found.

With passengers from Afghanistan and several other nations, the wooden sailing boat had set sail from Turkey a few days earlier. In the Calabrian beach resort of Staccato di Cutro, it split apart on Sunday during a storm.

According to Luca Cari, a spokesman for the firefighters helping with the rescue operations, by mid-morning, roughly 40 people had been located.

State TV said some 27 of the survivors made it to shore, apparently on their own.

The Italian news agency AGI said a baby was among the bodies recovered.

According to Manuela Curra, a representative of the regional government, the preliminary death toll was 58. She had earlier stated that eighty-one people had survived, 20 of them had been transferred to hospitals and one was receiving intensive care.

The Guardia di Finanza customs police reported that one survivor had been taken into custody on allegations of trafficking.

The migrants were crammed onto a 20-meter (66-foot) boat, according to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, amid "adverse weather conditions."

She expressed "her heartfelt grief for the numerous human lives torn away by human traffickers" in a statement issued by her office.

“It’s inhumane to exchange the life of men, women, and children for the ‘price’ of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect of a safe voyage,” said Ms. Meloni.

She vowed to utilize her position of authority to pressure other European Union leaders to support Italy in her endeavors and to push for crackdowns on departures orchestrated by human smugglers.

Since Ms. Meloni took office in October, her right-wing administration has adopted a strict position on immigration. With the severe new legislation, her administration has curbed the operations of migrant rescue organizations that Ms. Meloni claims encourage migrants to undertake the perilous trek.

Antonio Ceraso, the mayor of Cutro, stated that women and children were among the deceased, however, it was not yet known how many children had perished.

He told the SkyTG24 news channel that he had seen “a spectacle that you would never want to see in your life ... a gruesome sight ... that stays with you for all your life”.

According to Ms. Curra, the ship left the Turkish Aegean city of Izmir three or four days prior, carrying between 140 and 150 people. The majority of them were from Afghanistan, but there were also some passengers from Pakistan and Somalia.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi of Italy said in a separate statement that the tragedy "shows the essential need to act strongly against illicit migratory pathways."

Stopping maritime crossings, according to him, that provide migrants the "illusory mirage of a better life" in Europe, benefit traffickers, and "create tragedies like today's," are "important."

The mayor of Crotone, Vincenzo Voce, called it "a terrible catastrophe" and promised that "the city will find spaces in the cemetery" for the deceased.

RAI cited a coast guard source as saying that boats from the coast guard, border police, and firefighters were working on the rescue.

Firefighters in the Calabria region's Danilo Maida stated earlier that rescue teams were hunting for additional survivors at sea but that severe sea conditions were hampering the search.

One of the main ports of entry for migrants trying to reach Europe by sea before continuing on to other countries is Italy. Since 2014, the central Mediterranean route, one of the world's most dangerous, has been the scene of more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances, according to the United Nations Missing Migrants Project. It calculates that over 220 people have passed away or vanished this year.

Dozens, including children, drown after refugee ship breaks apart in rough seas off the Italian coast

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