Dozens, including children, drown after refugee ship breaks apart in rough seas off Italian coast

At least 58 people, including children, have died after a boat carrying over 140 migrants crashed into rocks in rough seas off the southern Italian coast.

The wooden sailing boat had set sail from Turkey several days ago with people from Afghanistan and several other countries on board. It broke apart in stormy weather on Sunday near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort in Calabria.

The provisional death toll stood at 58, Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, told Reuters news agency. Eighty-one people survived, with 20 taken to hospital and one in intensive care, she said.

One survivor has been arrested on trafficking charges, the Guardia di Finanza customs police said.

Cutro’s mayor, Antonio Ceraso, said women and children were among the dead but the exact number of how many children had died was not yet known.

He told the SkyTG24 news channel that he had seen “a spectacle that you would never want to see in your life ... a gruesome sight ... that stays with you for all your life”.

Ms Curra said the ship had left Izmir in eastern Turkey three or four days ago, with between 140 to 150 aboard. They were mainly from Afghanistan but there were some from Pakistan and Somalia also on board.

Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her “deep sorrow” at the tragedy and pledged to stop sea migration to prevent more deaths.

“The government is committed to preventing (migrant) departures, and with them, the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so, first of all by demanding maximum collaboration from (migrants’) countries of departure and of origin,” she said.

Ms Meloni’s right-wing government has taken a hard stance on migration since she came to power in October. Her administration has restricted the activities of migrant rescue charities, who Ms Meloni accuses of encouraging migrants to make the dangerous journey, with tough new laws.

In a separate statement, Italian interior minister Matteo Piantedosi said: “It is a huge tragedy which shows the absolute need to act firmly against irregular migration channels.”

He said it was “essential” to stop sea crossings which offer migrants the “illusory mirage of a better life” in Europe, enrich traffickers and “cause tragedies like today’s”.

“It’s an enormous tragedy,” Crotone mayor Vincenzo Voce told state radio station RAI, adding: “In solidarity, the city will find places in the cemetery” for the dead.

A coastguard figure was quoted by RAI as saying vessels from the coastguard, border police and firefighters were involved in rescue efforts.

Danilo Maida, a spokesperson for firefighters in the Calabria region, earlier told Reuters that rescue teams were looking for more survivors at sea, but harsh conditions were making the search difficult.

Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea before moving on to other nations.

The United Nations Missing Migrants Project has registered more than 17,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean route, which is known as one of the world’s most dangerous, since 2014. More than 220 have died or disappeared this year, it estimates.

Additional reporting by agencies