At least 59 migrants, including 12 children, have died and dozens more are missing after their boat capsized in rough seas off southern Italy.
The craft broke apart while trying to land near Crotone on Sunday. Migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iran were on board.
According to Italian officials, a child was among the dead.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who visited the scene, said that about 30 people were missing.
The bodies were found on a beach at a nearby seaside resort in the Calabria region.
The Coast Guard said 80 people were found alive, “including those who managed to reach shore after the flooding”.
The exact number of people who were on the boat that sailed from Turkey a few days ago is unknown.
Rescuers told AFP the vessel was carrying “more than 200 people”, meaning more than 60 people are believed to be missing.
According to the President of Italy, many migrants were fleeing from very difficult conditions.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif referred to reports that more than two dozen Pakistanis were among the dead and called the news “deeply troubling and alarming.” He instructed Pakistani diplomats to “find out the facts as soon as possible.”
The vessel is reported to have sunk after it crashed into rocks during rough weather, prompting a massive search and rescue operation on land and at sea.
The video shows how the wood from the wreckage, which was broken into pieces, is washed up on the beach along with parts of the hull.
The survivors are wrapped in blankets and are being cared for by Red Cross workers. Some were taken to hospital.
“There have been landings, but never such a tragedy,” Cruto Mayor Antonio Cerazo told Rai News.
According to the customs police, one of the survivors was detained on charges of migrant trafficking.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney, elected last year in part on a promise to stem the flow of migrants to Italy, expressed her “deep sorrow” and blamed the deaths on traffickers.
“It is inhumane to trade the lives of men, women and children for the price of a ‘ticket’ they paid for the false prospect of safe travel,” she said.
“The government is committed to preventing departures, and with them, the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so.”
Ms Maloney’s right-wing government has vowed to stop migrants reaching Italy’s shores and in the past few days pushed through a tough new law tightening rescue rules.
Carlo Calenda, Italy’s former economy minister, said people stranded at sea should be rescued “at all costs” but added that “illegal immigration routes must be closed”.
European Commission President Ursula van der Leyen said she was “deeply saddened” by the incident, adding that “the loss of innocent migrant lives is a tragedy.” She said it was vital to “redouble our efforts” to make progress on reforming the EU’s asylum rules to address migration to Europe.
![A map of the Mediterranean Sea showing the location of Crotone on Italy's Calabrian coast, where a migrant boat was shipwrecked.](https://i0.wp.com/ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/E15F/production/_128759675_migrant_shipwreck_in_italy_2x640-nc.png?w=696&is-pending-load=1#038;ssl=1)
Pope Francis, who often defends the rights of migrants, said he was praying for the dead, the missing and the survivors.
More than 20,000 people have died or gone missing at sea in the central Mediterranean since 2014, according to monitoring groups.
Regina Catrambone, director of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, which conducts search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, said European countries must work together to help those in need.
She also called for an end to the “short-sighted view” that countries physically closer to Africa and the Middle East should take the lead in solving the problem.
“There is still no cooperation between European states to actively coordinate to help people in need,” she said, calling on governments to work together to improve search and rescue operations and develop safe and legal routes.