Italy coastguard scours seas as migrant boat sinks

At least 43 migrants perished when their overcrowded wooden boat smashed into rocky reefs just off southern Italy at dawn Sunday, the Italian Coast Guard said.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the migrants were crowded into a 20-meter-long boat in “adverse weather conditions.”In a statement released by her office, she expressed “her deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers.”A helicopter and motorboats were deployed in search efforts, including vessels from state firefighters, border police and the coast guard.The Italian news agency AGI said that among the bodies found was that of a baby a few months old.