ROME (AP) — The Italian coast guard was searching Monday for possible missing people off Italy’s southern coast after the shipwreck of a sailboat carrying migrants believed to have left Turkey. It was not immediately clear how many migrants were missing.
The search and rescue operation began after a distress call from a French boat, which sailed about 193.12 kilometers from the Italian coast, at the border of the SAR areas under the jurisdiction of Greece and Italy, the coast guard said in a statement. .
After rescuers reported the presence of the half-sunken boat, they rescued twelve migrants from the ship. The survivors were taken to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel.
One of the migrants died shortly afterwards, the Coast Guard said.
The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (IMRCC) of the coast guard in Rome immediately diverted two merchant ships sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue. Resources from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex have also helped.
