86 migrants dead after boat capsized off of Italian coast
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Search operations are still underway but the mayor hopes "that some survived and disappeared from the scene of the shipwreck".
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A photo of the wreckage washed up on the shore in February 2023 (AP)
The mayor of the town of Cutro in Italy confirmed that at least 86 people died as a result of a migrant boat shipwreck last month with a dozen more still missing.
"This morning, five other bodies were found: two men, a woman and two children, aged three and eight or nine years old," the mayor, Antonio Ceraso, said.
Rescue and search operations were still underway but the mayor said "we hope that some survived and disappeared from the scene of the shipwreck".
Read more: 22 migrants die in boat sinking off Madagascar: Authorities
The boat started its journey from Turkey carrying 175 people including Afghan, Iranian, Pakistani, and Syrian nationals - until it went down near the coast of Calabria.
As a result, accusations have been pointed at local authorities for not acting fast to help, but Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government has rejected the claim. This comes after her far-right Brothers of Italy party vowed to reduce the number of migrants coming into Italy every year.
In another recent incident, Italy's coastguard reported that 30 migrants were deemed missing and presumed dead after the boat capsized near the coast of Libya.
About 104,000 migrants have arrived in Italy in 2022, according to data, in comparison with about 67,000 in the same period last year, 34,000 in 2020, and more than 181,000 in 2016.
A document from Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi's office said that only around 10% of migrants who arrived in Italy this year were brought ashore by NGO boats and that these boats acted as a "pull factor" for those coming across the Mediterranean from Libya.
Handling immigration in the European Union has caused tensions for years. Italy and Spain have long said EU allies must take on more migrants arriving on their shores.
