Rome, Feb. 26 (BNA): At least 33 people have died after a migrant ship sank off the eastern coast of the Italian region of Calabria, the Italian News Agency (ANSA) and other Italian news agencies reported on Sunday.
Some 27 bodies were found washed up on the beaches of Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort in the province of Crotone, the Italian news agency ANSA said, adding that more bodies were spotted in the water.
The agency quoted the news agency as saying that the current provisional death toll of 33 would “definitely” rise.
“Several deaths reported among the migrants, (and) about 40 survivors,” the National Fire Department wrote on messaging app Telegram, adding that the migrants’ ship had run aground near the coast.
More than 100 people were on board the ship, the Adnkronos news agency said, while another Italian news agency said an infant and several children were among the dead.
Adnkronos said the ship, which was carrying migrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan, was wrecked on the rocks during rough sea weather.
The Italian coast guard, which was reported to have been on the scene along with firefighters and other police forces, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea. The so-called Central Mediterranean Road is known as one of the most dangerous roads in the world.
According to the International Organization for Migration’s Missing Migrants Project, 20,333 people have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean since 2014.