The Italian coast guard has recovered 12 more bodies of victims of a shipwreck over the weekend in the Ionian Sea off the southern Italian coast, bringing the number of known victims in the incident to 20. Dozens of others are missing and presumed dead, the Associated Press reported, citing BTA.
The bodies, including women and children, were transported to a port in Calabria. Two more Coast Guard vessels were on their way to join the air and sea search about 120 miles (190 km) offshore.
Survivors said the boat's engine caught fire, causing it to capsize off the Italian coast overnight Sunday, about eight days after setting sail from Turkey with about 75 people from Iran, Syria and Iraq on board, the agency said. of the United Nations for Refugees and other UN organizations. Eleven survivors are being treated on shore.
The deaths brought to more than 800 the number of people killed or missing crossing the central Mediterranean so far this year, an average of five deaths per day, UN agencies said.
Humanitarian groups condemned the deaths as evidence of the failure of European migration policy.