Italy urges 'stop' to migrant boats as shipwreck death toll hits 63

A view of the wreckage of a shipwreck in southern Italy which has left dozens of migrants dead after the boat in which they were travelling smashed onto the rocks, in Cutro, Italy, February 27, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli

Rescuers recovered four more bodies on Monday, a day after a wooden sailboat carrying migrants to Europe smashed onto rocks in stormy weather off southern Italy, bringing the death toll to 63, including at least 14 children.

Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from Iran, Somalia, Syria and elsewhere. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens were on the boat, with four missing and 16 survivors of the nighttime shipwreck.