Italy migrant boat shipwreck: More than 100 people feared dead

There are fears that much than 100 people, including children, person died aft their vessel sank successful unsmooth seas disconnected confederate Italy.

At slightest 62 migrants are confirmed to person died.

The vessel, which is thought to person been carrying immoderate 200 people, broke isolated portion trying to onshore adjacent Crotone connected Sunday.

People from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iran were connected board.

Bodies were recovered from the formation astatine a adjacent seaside edifice successful the Calabria region. There were 12 children among the victims, including a baby.

The coastguard said 80 radical had been recovered alive, "including immoderate who managed to scope the enactment aft the sinking", meaning galore much stay unaccounted for.

Many of those connected committee were thought to beryllium from Pakistan.

The country's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif referenced reports that much than 2 twelve Pakistanis were among the dead, and called the quality "deeply concerning and worrisome". He instructed Pakistan's diplomats to "ascertain facts arsenic aboriginal arsenic possible".

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is assisting radical connected the ground.

"We person cases of children who became orphans, specified arsenic a 12-year-old Afghan lad who mislaid his full family, a household of 9 people, including 4 siblings, parents and different adjacent relatives," said Sergio Di Dato, from the charity.

Speaking astatine the UN's Human Rights Council successful Geneva connected Monday morning, Secretary General António Guterres called connected countries to bash much to assistance refugees and migrants, and for safer question routes and strengthened rescue operations.

"Just yesterday [Sunday], yet different horrific shipwreck successful the Mediterranean claimed the lives of scores of radical seeking a amended aboriginal for themselves and their children. Refugee and migrant rights are quality rights. They indispensable beryllium respected without discrimination," helium said.

He added that portion transgression gangs controlled migration routes, radical would proceed to die: "We request safe, orderly, ineligible routes for migrants and refugees. And we indispensable bash everything imaginable to forestall the nonaccomplishment of beingness by providing hunt and rescue and aesculapian attraction arsenic a humanitarian imperative and arsenic a motivation and ineligible obligation."

One subsister was arrested connected migrant trafficking charges, customs constabulary said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni - elected past twelvemonth partially connected a pledge to stem the travel of migrants into Italy - expressed "deep sorrow" and blamed the deaths connected traffickers.

"It is inhumane to speech the lives of men, women and children for the terms of the 'ticket' they paid successful the mendacious position of a harmless journey," she said successful a statement.

"The authorities is committed to preventing departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies, and volition proceed to bash so."

Ms Meloni's right-wing authorities has vowed to halt migrants reaching Italy's shores and successful the past fewer days pushed done a pugnacious caller instrumentality tightening the rules connected rescues.

The vessel, which had sailed from Turkey respective days ago, is reported to person sunk aft it crashed against rocks during unsmooth weather, sparking a ample search-and-rescue cognition connected onshore and astatine sea.

Video footage shows timber from the wreckage that had been smashed into pieces washing up connected the beach, on with parts of the hull.

According to monitoring groups, much than 20,000 radical person died oregon gone missing astatine oversea successful the cardinal Mediterranean since 2014.