Italy urges 'stop' to migrant boats as shipwreck death toll hits 63

Rescuers work at the beach where bodies of refugees were found after a shipwreck, in Cutro, the eastern coast of Italy's Calabria region, Italy, February 26, 2023, in this screen grab taken from a Reuters TV video. REUTERS TV via REUTERS

CROTONE, Italy (Reuters) -Rescuers recovered four more bodies on Monday, a day after a wooden sailboat carrying migrants to Europe smashed onto rocks in stormy weather off southern Italy, bringing the death toll to 63, including at least 14 children.

Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, as well as from Iran, Somalia, Syria and elsewhere. Pakistan's foreign ministry said 20 Pakistani citizens were on the boat, with four missing and 16 survivors of the nighttime shipwreck.