Italian coast guard searches for migrants after boat sinks off Calabrian coast
Rescuers recovered 12 migrants from the vessel, one of whom died shortly after being brought ashore.
Italian Coast Guard are searching for possible missing people off Italy’s southern coast after the shipwreck of a sailboat with migrants on board, believed to be departing from Turkey, on Monday.
It was not immediately clear how many migrants were missing.
The search and rescue operation started following a May-day call by a French boat, sailing around 120 miles from the Italian coast, at the limit of the SAR areas under the jurisdiction of Greece and Italy, the coast guard said in a statement.
The survivors were brought to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel.
One of the migrants died soon after, the coast guard said.
The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (IMRCC) of the coast guard in Rome immediately diverted two merchant vessels sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue.
Assets from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex also assisted.
