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They did not reach Europe: At least 59 people, including twelve children, died in a boat accident off the southern Italian coast on Sunday.
Forces searched the sea at Steccato di Cutro on the east coast of Calabria for survivors.
Roberto Occhiuto, Regional President of Calabria: »It is a day of mourning for Calabria. You have come along a route that is being used more and more, but has received little attention in recent years. Calabria is a region that welcomes people, last year we welcomed 18,000 migrants. But Europe must not let us down. This kind of tragedy should have been avoided before.”
Only the remains of the fragile vehicle can be seen on the beach at Cutro: According to survivors, the overcrowded wooden boat left Turkey five days ago with up to 200 people on board.
The migrants came mainly from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.
In stormy weather, the boat ran aground on rocks on the Italian coast and broke.
The Coast Guard was able to save at least 80 people, and dozens are still missing.
Italy's far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her regret at the accident and promised to take tougher action against people smugglers.
The opposition sees the tragedy as proof of the flaws in Italy's controversial migration policy.