30 dead after migrant boat breaks apart off Italy's southern coast: Report

The ship was carrying more than 100 migrants when it ran into trouble at dawn in the Ionian sea.

The Italian coast guard has recovered about 30 bodies after a migrant boat broke apart in rough seas Sunday off the southern coast of Italy’s mainland, RAI state radio reported.

By mid-morning, about 40 survivors had been found. (Representational image) (REUTERS)

Quoting unidentified port authorities near the coastal town of Crotone, in Calabria, the toe of the Italian peninsula, RAI said the ship was carrying more than 100 migrants when it ran into trouble at dawn in the Ionian sea.

By mid-morning, about 40 survivors had been found, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for firefighters who were involved in rescue efforts.

“At the moment there are various victims," he said, without specifying a number of dead as rescue efforts were still underway.

The Italian news agency AGI put the number of recovered bodies at 27 and said a baby a few months old was among the dead.

The radio report said vessels from the coast guard, border police and firefighters were involved in rescue efforts.

The coast guard was not immediately available for more details.

Details about the nationalities of the migrants were not immediately provided in the reports. It was not immediately clear where the boat had set out from, but migrant vessels arriving in Calabria depart from Turkish or Egyptian shores.