Rescuers looking for more survivors at sea using jet skis, but conditions were harsh, making the search difficult.
The shipwreck on Sunday took place near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the coast of Calabria, the region that forms the tip of Italy’s boot.
The Italian coastguard said in a statement on Twitter that rescue operations were ongoing.
Italy’s news agency ANSA added that the search for survivors was continuing despite stormy seas.
AGI news agency quoted a rescue worker as saying the overcrowded vessel split apart because of the violent waves. It said a months-old baby was among the victims.
Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, said the boat had left from Izmir in eastern Turkey three or four days ago carrying people from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Somalia.
“According to survivors, 140 to 150 people had been aboard,” Curra said.
By mid-morning, about 40 survivors had been found, said Luca Cari, a spokesperson for firefighters who were involved in rescue efforts. Some survivors made it to shore on their own.
Many of these boats reach remote stretches of Italy’s long southern coastline unaided by the coast guard or humanitarian rescue vessels.
The latest such tragedy comes just days after Italy’s hard-right government pushed through parliament a controversial new law on rescuing refugees and migrants.
The law forces rescue vessels to make just one rescue attempt at a time, which critics say risks increasing the number of drownings in the central Mediterranean.
Far-right Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was elected last September partly on a promise to stem the flow of refugees and migrants reaching Italian shores.
In a statement on Sunday, she expressed her “deep sorrow” over the incident and “the many human lives cut short by human traffickers”.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said in a separate statement that the incident was “a huge tragedy which shows the absolute need to act firmly against irregular migration channels.”
Pope Francis, a vocal advocate for migrants’ rights, said he was praying for everyone caught up in the shipwreck during his Sunday address to crowds in St. Peter’s Square.
Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea.
At least 2,836 people died crossing the Central Mediterranean in 2022, a route considered the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.
