According to Italian media, a boat carrying at least 43 passengers capsized early on Sunday morning off the coast of Crotone in the southern Calabria area of Italy.
The Italian coast guard reports that 43 bodies have been found.
Stormy waters are complicating the search for survivors.
About 80 people, according to rescuers, have been saved.
According to reports, the migrant boat was overcrowded and seemed to have split in two because to the ferocious seas.
More than 200 individuals were reportedly aboard the ship.
“Numerous people, including children, drowned in their dozens. Much is missing. Following this tragic event, Calabria is in mourning “Roberto Occhiuto, the regional governor, remarked.
The incident occurs only a few days after Rome’s hard-right government passed legislation in parliament.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the post-Fascist Brothers of Italy party, won power in October, partly on a promise to stem the flow of migrants reaching Italian shores.
Meloni on Suday morning expressed “deep sorrow” for the incident, blaming the deaths on traffickers.
“It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the price of the ‘ticket’ they paid in the false perspective of a safe journey,” she said in a statement.
“The government is committed to preventing departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so.”
The new law obliges migrant aid vessels to make just one rescue attempt at a time. Critics say the legislation risks increasing the number of drownings in the central Mediterranean.
