Rome, 27 February 2023 (dpa/MIA) – The death toll following the weekend shipwreck on the southern Italian coast of a boat carrying migrants rose to 62, after three more bodies were discovered early on Monday, the regional fire chief told Italian broadcaster RaiNews24.

The ANSA news agency reported that bodies had been found in the water and on the beach a few kilometres from Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort in Calabria. Amid uncertainty over the numbers aboard the wooden vessel, the death toll was expected to rise further.

The La Repubblica newspaper reported on Sunday that the victims included a dozen children and more than 30 women.

Around 80 people survived the wreck, either by being rescued by the Italian authorities or by making their own way to the shore. Dozens are believed to be still missing.

Clothing, toys and a doll's head were still lying on the beach on Monday amid the wreckage of the boat.

Italian rescue workers were continuing their work in the face of difficult weather conditions and high seas, with the coastguard, fire services, financial police and Carabinieri, a branch of the military, searching for survivors and the bodies of victims.

The survivors are being cared for by the Red Cross and Doctors without Borders.

The vessel is believed to have left Izmir on Turkey's Aegean coast on Thursday and rounded the southern coast of Greece before making course for southern Italy. A Carabinieri commandant said on Monday that a man had been detained who is suspected of human trafficking.

Speaking at a United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that "yet another horrific shipwreck in the Mediterranean" had claimed the lives of scores of people seeking a better future for themselves and their children.

"Refugee and migrant rights are human rights," he said. Guterres called for "safe, orderly and legal routes for migrants and refugees."

For as long as criminal gangs controlled the migration routes, people would continue to die," he said.

On Sunday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described as "criminal" sending people to sea in a small boat in poor weather. The Italian government's aim was to prevent boats of this kind getting into the sea in the first place, she said.