The Italian coast guard pulled about 40 bodies from the water after a boat carrying illegal immigrants broke in two in stormy seas off the southern coast of the Italian mainland on Sunday. State broadcaster Rai reported that rescuers had so far found at least 40 survivors.
RAI quoted port authorities near the coastal town of Crotone in Calabria, at the foot of the Italian peninsula, as saying the ship was carrying more than 100 illegal immigrants when it ran into trouble in the Ionian Sea at dawn.
Luca Carey, a spokesman for the firefighters involved in the rescue work, said around 40 survivors had been found during the morning.
According to state television, about 27 of the survivors managed to swim to shore under their own steam, while the others waited in the rough seas to be rescued.
Carey could not say how many were killed as rescue operations are still underway.
According to information from the Italian news agency AGI, an infant of a few months old is also among the dead, as I wrote. News agency.
According to the RAI report, coast guard vessels, border guards and firefighters are involved in the rescue operation. There is currently no information about the nationality of the people traveling on the ship.
