Iranian Nationals Among Victims of Italy Migrant Boat Capsize

The Embassy of the Islamic Republic in Rome has confirmed that Iranian nationals were among those who perished when a migrant sailboat capsized in the Mediterranean on June 16.

Mitra Ghasem Karimi, whose brother and sister are among those missing, informed Iran International that the families of the others are independently attempting to hire helicopters to search for their relatives.

The vessel had departed from Turkey approximately eight days prior with around 75 individuals from Iran, Syria, and Iraq on board, according to reports from the UN refugee agency and other UN organizations.

The Italian coastguard has recovered 20 bodies from a weekend shipwreck in the Ionian Sea off the southern Italian coastline, with dozens more missing and presumed dead.

Survivors, according to the AP, recounted that the boat's engine caught fire overnight on Sunday, leading to its capsizing off the Italian coast.

The fatalities mark a total exceeding 800 individuals who have perished or gone missing and are presumed deceased while attempting to cross the central Mediterranean this year alone, amounting to an average of five deaths per day, according to reports from UN agencies.

Iranians, known for their extensive history of emigration, primarily since the 1979 revolution, represent a significant portion of migrants embarking on perilous journeys across the English Channel to reach the UK and across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.