Numerous people have died in the shipwreck of a migrant boat off the coast of southern Italy. According to official reports, 58 victims have been recovered so far. The first bodies were discovered on the beach of Steccato di Cutro in Calabria and in the sea, the Italian news agency Ansa and the television station RAI reported on Sunday, citing the police.

At least 81 survivors have been rescued so far, 21 of whom have been taken to hospital. But the number of victims could still rise significantly because many bodies have not yet been recovered from the sea, reports said. Some of the survivors reported that about 250 people were on board the boat. Other rescuers said there were between 140 and 180, while the coast guard said there were "about 120 migrants" on board. The search for the missing continued, but was complicated by heavy swells.

According to initial information, the migrants were on a fishing boat when it hit a rock not far from the coast of Steccato di Cutro and broke in two. Steccato di Cutro is a seaside resort in the town of Cutro on the toe of the Italian boot, in the province of Crotone. Reports say that people from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan were on board. According to Ansa, many children and women were among the victims. There was initially no information about the cutter's port of departure.

"This is a rude awakening that must wake up the community so that similar tragedies do not happen," wrote the president of the Italian Red Cross, Rosario Valastro, on Twitter. In a first reaction, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called for tougher action against smugglers. The boats must be prevented from setting sail in the first place, he demanded. The new centre-right government under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is pursuing a particularly rigid and tough migration policy. A new law passed by the Senate last week also makes the work of civilian sea rescuers more difficult.

Every year, thousands of people try to reach Italy and thus Europe from North Africa and the Middle East on boats that are often not very seaworthy. Many also try to reach Italy from Greece via the Ionian Sea. According to the Italian Interior Ministry, 13,067 migrants have entered the country by sea this year up to and including Thursday. That is more than twice as many as in the same period last year. According to a report by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), more than 25,000 people have died or gone missing trying to reach Europe on the Mediterranean route since records began in 2014.