Migrant boat collides with rocks near Italy, killing 43 people

• Meloni’s hard-right government has made intercepting migrant boats a priority.
• And new measures must be instituted to reduce perilous journeys.
• The majority of the remaining countries are from other parts of Africa.

A wooden boat carrying about 100 migrants broke apart on rocks off the coast of Calabria, killing at least 43 people—including several women, children, and infants.

Around 4:40 a.m. local time on Sunday, the first three bodies washed ashore on the beach close to Staccato di Cutro in Southern Italy.

According to the Italian fire department, about 80 people were pulled from the river while clinging to the wreckage of the boat.

According to the fire brigade, the survivors were from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Where the ship was launched from is unknown.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed human traffickers. “It is criminal to launch a boat just 20 meters long with 200 people on board in adverse weather,” she said in a statement. “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.”

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi added that new measures must be instituted to reduce such perilous journeys. “It is essential to continue with every possible initiative to stop departures and discourage crossings in any way which takes advantage of the illusory mirage of a better life,” he said in a statement.

Meloni’s hard-right government made intercepting migrant boats a primary priority. New legislation that make it harder for NGOs to conduct rescues were approved by the parliament this week.

According to UNHCR figures, 11,874 migrants have entered Italy by water so far in 2023, 678 of whom arrived in Calabria.

Instead of the Middle East and Asia, arrivals are typically from African nations, with most boats leaving from Libya.

Just 8.3%, 6.7%, and 0.7% of new entrants are from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, respectively. The remaining arrivals are mostly from Africa, with 13.1% of them coming from Guinea and 17.3% from Ivory Coast alone.

The majority of the remaining countries are from other parts of Africa, particularly North Africa.

The Central Mediterranean Route is the most dangerous migrant route, with at least 20,334 fatalities recorded there since 2014, according to the Missing Migrants Project of the International Organization for Migration.

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