UPDATE: Migrants paid over €8,000 per person to arrested suspects before boarding boat that crashed in Italy

UPDATE February 28 (7.00 pm) –Police in Italy say suspects arrested after migrant shipwreck charged over €8,000 per person before boarding the boat  

As the death toll after the migrant shipwreck in Italy increases to 64, police have said that three people arrested in the case informed them that each passenger paid over €8,000 for the journey.  

Authorities said that the wooden boat, as per their estimates, carried 200 people, who were from different countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq and Iran. 

According to the BBC, the vessel crashed while it was trying to land near Crotone, as it sank after hitting rocks during rough weather.  

Police said that the three men that have been arrested for human trafficking are from Turkey and Pakistan.

Reports suggest that the men sailed the boat from Izmir in Turkey to Calabria, Italy, during bad conditions. Officials now estimate the final death toll could exceed more than 100.  

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UPDATE February 27 (7.50 am) – Authorities in Italy say 12 children were killed after the migrant ship crashed near southern Italy as the total death toll increases to 64 

At least 64 people have died after a wooden boat carrying migrants crashed against rocks in southern Italy, as authorities said 12 children are among the dead.  

Local Italian news agencies cited by Reuters said, a baby who is reported to be only a few months old was also found washed up on the beach, including others.  

“When we got to the point of the shipwreck, we saw corpses floating everywhere and we rescued two men who were holding up a child. Sadly, the little one was dead”, said Laura De Paoli, Emergency doctor.  

The vessel which was travelling from Turkey was carrying people from several countries Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, and others before it sank near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Italy.  

Cutro’s mayor, Antonio Ceraso has described this incident as “a spectacle that you would never want to see in your life … a gruesome sight … that stays with you for all your life”. 

Meanwhile, Italy´s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi has said that between 20 to 30 people could still be missing, as reports suggest that the boat had 150 to 200 migrants onboard.  

A statement has also been released by the prime minister of Pakistan, who has said that at least two dozen Pakistani nationals were among the dead in the shipwreck.  

“The reports of the drowning of over two dozen Pakistanis in a boat tragedy in Italy are deeply concerning and worrisome,” Sharif said in a statement, adding, “I have directed the foreign office to ascertain facts as early as possible and take the nation into confidence.” 

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UPDATE February 26 (4.40 pm) – Officials in Italy say at least 58 migrants have died after their wooden boat crashed near southern Italy

The death toll after a migrant boat crashed near southern Italy has increased to 58, after recent official reports were updated by Reuters.

Authorities in Italy have said that among the dead are also some women and chidren after the incident happened on Sunday, February 26.

The number of dead was confirmed by Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, who also said that 81 people have survived, while 20 among them have been hospitalised.

According to official reports, “The vessel had set sail from Turkey several days ago with migrants from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed in stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria”.

Antonio Ceraso, Cutro’s mayor, said that so far the exact figure about the number of children who have died is not available.

As per the Guardia di Finanza customs police, one of the survivors has been arrested on charges of trafficking migrants.

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UPDATE February 26 (12.45 pm) – Officials in southern Italy have said that at least 45 migrants have died after their boat crashed near Crotone  

The coast guard in Italy has said that the death toll after a migrant boat crashed near the southern coast of Italy is at least 45.  

They said that the ship was carrying more than 120 migrants onboard when it “ran into trouble in rough seas at dawn on Sunday near the coastal town of Crotone, in Calabria”, as per Sky News.  

“A total of 80 survivors have been recovered, some of whom managed to reach the shore after the shipwreck, while 45 bodies have been found along the coast”, the statement said.  

The statement added that two men were recovered in a state of hypothermia by a patrol boat and were also carrying a “lifeless body of a child”.  

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ORIGINAL February 26 (10.21 am) – Authorities in Italy have said at least 30 bodies of migrants were found washed up near the coastal town of Crotone 

Local news agencies in Italy have reported that at least 30 bodies of migrants were found washed up near the coast of Crotone.  

The incident happened after a ship carrying more than 100 migrants was faced with problems in the sea on the morning of Sunday, February 26.  

Italian state radio RAI stated that the incident took place near the coastal town of Crotone in Calabria and the coast guard, the border police, and fire fighters were rushed to the scene to start a rescue operation.  

“A boat of migrants ran aground off the village of Steccato di Cutro and reported around 40 survivors”, said a statement by Vigili del Fuoco, Italy’s institutional agency for fire and rescue service, cited by Sky News.  

The agency also stated that the “intervention was in progress”.  

Authorities said that at least 30 bodies were found washed up on the shore, while three others were found in open water.  

Local reports also said that “The boat, bringing migrants from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, crashed against rocks during rough sea weather”.  

Further details about the case are now awaited from the coast guard and rescue services in Italy.

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