Italian authorities report that at least 43 people, including infants and women, were killed after a wooden migrant boat carrying around 100 people broke apart on rocks off the coast of Calabria in Southern Italy. The survivors were from Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan and are being treated for hypothermia, trauma, and dehydration.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned human traffickers in the wake of the devastating accident. “It is criminal to launch a boat just 20 meters long with 200 people on board in adverse weather," Meloni said in a statement. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called for more initiatives to stop departures and discourage crossings which play on the “illusory mirage of a better life”.

Research performed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows that this year 11,874 people have arrived in Italy by