Overview
- Authorities reported the dead were found in recent days on beaches in Sicily and Calabria, with victims presumed to be migrants who attempted the crossing.
- The UN migration agency said several boats were lost during January’s severe weather and warned the final death toll could be far higher.
- Students near the resort town of Tropea discovered a man wearing an orange life vest, and additional bodies were found on the island of Pantelleria.
- Rescue crews, including the coast guard and fishing vessels, have also recovered bodies at sea in recent weeks.
- Humanitarian groups say smugglers launch people from Libya and Tunisia in barely seaworthy boats and fear several hundred may have drowned this winter.