Ship Transporting Migrants Wrecked Resulting In Deaths

It is unclear how many people are still missing and the death toll is expected to rise.

A boat carrying migrants fell apart after hitting rocks off the coast of Calabria, Italy.

The boat took off from the Turkish city of Izmir with 140 to 150 people aboard the vessel.

At least 61 deaths have been recorded so far including an infant.

Nearly 80 people have been saved from the water so far clinging to pieces of the boat. The survivors were from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

It is unclear how many people are still missing and the death toll is expected to rise. The rough condition of the Mediterranean Sea is making it difficult for search and rescue missions to be conducted.

Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, blamed human traffickers and said that it is illegal to launch a boat that is 20 meters long with 200 people on board in adverse weather.

Meloni also said that it is “inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women, and children for the price of a ticket under the false perspective of a safe journey.”