At least 40 people have died after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the eastern coast of Calabria, Italy.

As ANSA and other Italian news agencies reported today, at least 27 bodies were found on the shores of Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort in the province of Crotona.

Three other bodies were found in the sea.

According to the AGI agency, among the victims is a baby a few months old.

The Adnkronos news agency reported that more than 100 people were on board the vessel while around 50 have been rescued.

The boat was carrying migrants from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan and crashed on rocks amid bad weather.

According to ANSA, the search was continuing in difficult conditions as the sea was rough in the area.

First aid to immigrants and refugees (originating mainly from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan) was provided by the Italian economic police, who rescued fifty people. Its speedboats continue to search for any survivors, while those rescued are being given medical care by the Italian Red Cross.

Almost 200 people in one 20 meter boat

The Italian government, in a statement, refers to the tragic shipwreck of migrants and refugees that occurred a few meters from the coast of Calabria, with a provisional count of over forty dead and eighty rescued. In more detail, the Meloni government, in its announcement, underlines:

“It is a criminal act to use a boat of only 20 meters, with passengers approaching 200 and bad weather conditions.

It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of the “ticket” they paid, with the false prospect of a safe journey.

Our government is making an effort to block the departures – and with them, the specific tragedies – and will continue to do so, demanding, in principle, the maximum possible cooperation from the countries of origin and departure. Those who are trying to take advantage of these dead people, after the fact, need no comment. From the moment, when in the past they had extolled the delusion of an immigration without rules”.