At least 59 people, including 12 children, have died after a boat carrying refugees sank off the Italian coastal city of Crotone in the southern region of Calabria.
The vessel had set sail from Turkey several days ago with refugees from Afghanistan, Iran and several other countries, and crashed on Sunday in stormy weather near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria.
Junior interior minister Wanda Ferro told newsmen that By Sunday afternoon the provisional death toll stood at 59 but was expected to raise.
It was reported that Eighty-one people survived, with 20 hospitalized including one person in intensive care, Manuela Curra.
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