Italy migrant boat shipwreck: Children among 80 dead; three arrested for 'trafficking'
Kabul (Afghanistan), February 28: At least 80 Afghan citizens, including children, died in Sunday's shipwreck off the southern coast of Italy, informed Afghanistan's Taliban-led foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Rescuers have confirmed that at least 64 people were killed when a sailboat capsized in heavy seas near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on Calabria's eastern coast. Eighty people had been rescued, and more are feared to be missing.
"With great sadness, we learned ... that 80 Afghan refugees, including women and children, who were travelling from Turkiye to Italy in a wooden boat, drowned and died in the southern sea of Italy," the Afghan foreign affairs ministry said.
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"The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan prays for forgiveness for the martyrs and patience for the families and relatives of the victims, urging all citizens once again to avoid going to foreign countries through irregular migration," the statement added.
The boat had set sail from the western Turkish port of Izmir. According to the UN Refugee Agency, Afghans made up nearly half of all sea arrivals between Turkey and Italy last year.
- PTC NEWS
