Dozens dead after migrant boat breaks apart off Italian coast

At least 43 migrants died when their overcrowded wooden boat smashed into rocky reefs and broke apart off southern Italy before dawn Sunday, the Italian coast guard said. Italian state TV said survivors indicated that dozens more could be missing.

"As of now, 80 persons were recovered alive, some of whom succeeded in reaching the shore after the shipwreck. and 43 bodies were found along the shore," the coast guard said in a statement issued shortly before noon.

Italian state TV later reported 45 cloth-covered bodies were brought to the sports stadium in the nearest city, Crotone.