FALCON POWERS – According to a statement, the Italian Coast Guard recovered 14 more bodies on Friday after a migrant boat sank off the coast of Calabria in southern Italy, resulting in at least 34 deaths.
Rescue agencies reported on Monday that the incident occurred around 200 kilometers east of Calabria when a fire broke out on the boat, which is believed to have departed from Turkey. The Coast Guard statement said “the ships Dattilo and Corigliano today recovered 14 bodies. The total number of bodies recovered is 34” since the search operations began.
After the incident, rescue agencies said the Coast Guard rescued 11 people from the site and recovered the body of a woman on the shore, but noted that more than 60 others remain missing.
United Nations data indicates that over 23,500 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014.