Heartbreaking Loss: Boat Carrying 70 Migrants Sinks Near Italy, Claims Lives of Kurdish Families

30 Kurdish Migrants Fleeing Dire Conditions Among the Victims

A devastating incident occurred near the coast of Italy, where a sailboat carrying 70 migrants sank. A Kurdish Greece-based journalist reported that nearly 30 of these migrants were from the Kurdistan Region. The boat, which departed from Turkey about a week ago, was carrying mostly families, including many women and children.

According to VOA, 11 migrants have been rescued, and 11 fatalities have been confirmed. The fate of the remaining individuals remains uncertain. Channel 8, a local TV in Iraq, has reported that some families have tragically confirmed the deaths of their loved ones, including a pregnant woman from the Rania and Balakayati areas.

The Kurdish migrants aboard the boat were from both the Iraqi and Iranian parts of Kurdistan. Many people from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are fleeing to Europe due to poor governance and dire living conditions. In total, 35 of the migrants on the boat were Kurdish, desperately seeking a better life away from the hardships in their homeland.

Ali Hama Salih, of the newly-formed National Stance party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, criticized the leadership of the PDK and PUK, saying, “The leadership of PDK and PUK not only fail to take responsibility but watch the death of their people in silence.”