Dozens of migrants found drowned off Italian coast

Cutro: At least 43 people were found drowned off the southeastern Italian coast early on Sunday after the boat they were in broke up off the coast, the Italian coast guards said in a statement.

Eighty more migrants were rescued, the statement added.

Italian police and Carabinieri arrived at the scene in the city of Cutro, in Croton, the Italian ANSA news agency reported.

The ship was believed to be carrying over 100 migrants when it ran into trouble in the Ionian sea at dawn, the Italian RAI state radio reported, quoting unidentified port authorities.

The retrieved bodies included that of women and a few-months-old baby.

Rescue operations involved fire fighters, divers and aquatic rescuers, the national fire fighters department said on Telegram.

The boat was believed to be carrying migrants from Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Italian Adnkronos news agency said.

Italy and Spain often complain that they take in the biggest number of those trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, hoping for what they believe will be a better life, as their shores are usually closest to the boats rescued by NGOs.

How did the Italian prime minister react?
Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deep sorrow" for the lives lost, blaming "human traffickers."

She pledged in a statement to stop irregular sea migration to prevent more "tragedies," demanding "maximum collaboration" from countries of "departure and of origin."

Pope Francis also expressed his sorrow for those whose bodies have been recovered.

"I pray for every one of them, for the missing and for the other surviving migrants," the Pope said in his weekly address to crowds in St. Peter's Square.

The far-right government has recently pushed through parliament a controversial law that restricts migrants' rescue.

The bill limits migrant aid vessels to a single rescue attempt at a time. Critics argue this risks increasing the number of migrants lost at sea.