The Italian coastguard reported that authorities were alerted to the presence of a “half-sunken” boat, around 120 nautical miles off the coast of Italy, by a French pleasure boat on late Sunday. The French vessel transferred 12 surviving migrants on board the ship to an Italian coastguard boat, one of whom died after disembarking.
Rescue efforts continue in search of survivors or bodies of the migrants, as around 60 people are presumed to be lost at sea.
“Most of the passengers onboard were Kurds from the Kurdistan Region and Rojhelat [western Iran], and a small number were from Afghanistan,” said Bakir Ali, head of the Association of Returned Migrants from Europe, during a press conference, adding that the survivors are currently receiving treatment at a medical facility in the town of Roccella Ionica in southern Italy
As of the writing of this article, it is unclear if any Kurds are among the individuals that have been rescued.
In a separate incident, the bodies of 10 migrants were found off the Italian island of Lampedusa after their wooden boat capsized. German aid group RESQSHIP said that at least 61 people were on board the sunken boat, adding that their crew was able to evacuate 51 of them, two of whom were unconscious.
“The unconscious are currently receiving medical attention and await a critically needed emergency evacuation. The 10 dead are in the flooded lower deck of the boat,” wrote RESQSHIP on X.
Tens of thousands of people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region take on perilous routes out of the country towards Europe on a yearly basis in hopes of escaping the endless crises in the country, including the lack of employment, political instability, and corruption.
Around 20,000 people from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region migrated out of the country in 2023, with at least nine of them losing their lives on the dangerous and illegal smuggling routes, according to the Summit (Lutka) Foundation for Refugees and Displaced Affairs.
