Shipwreck in Italy kills 59 migrants, including 12 children

At least 59 migrants have died, including 12 children, and dozens more are missing after the ship carrying them sank off the coast of southern Italy. It is reported by the BBC.

The ship sailed from Turkey, with at least 150 people on board, mostly citizens of Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia and Pakistan. The ship was wrecked near the coastal town of Crotone in the Calabria region.

Many bodies washed ashore. According to the Italian news agency ANSA, a baby was among the dead.

80 people were able to escape, 21 of them were taken to the hospital.

According to Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, up to 30 people may be considered missing.

According to media reports , Prime Minister George Meloni blamed the incident on human traffickers, who allegedly placed 200 people on a small boat and sent it on a journey in bad weather.

“It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of the ‘ticket’ they paid for the false prospect of safe travel,” she said in a statement.

As clarifies , the Italian government recently adopted a new law tightening the rules for rescuing migrants at sea. the BBC Russian Service

Vessels that go out to sea to search for migrant boats must now return to port without delay after the first rescue and not continue to search for other people.

Prior writes . to this, the missions of charitable or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the central Mediterranean lasted several days, taking hundreds of people on board at the same time, European Pravda

Critics of the new law believe that it will only lead to an increase in the number of such shipwrecks.