59 migrants dead after boat wreck off Italy
It happened off the coast of Crotone
Updated 5pm with increased death toll.
An accident involving an overloaded migrant boat that sank in stormy seas near the southern Italian city of Crotone on Sunday has killed 59 people, the mayor said.
"As of a few minutes ago, the number of confirmed victims was 59," Vincenzo Voce told TV channel Sky TG-24.
The search for survivors was continuing, hampered by the stormy seas.
AGI news agency said the migrants' vessel was overloaded and had split apart because of the violent waves.
The latest such tragedy comes just days after the hard-right government pushed through parliament a controversial new law on rescuing migrants.
Far-right president Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the post-Fascist Brothers of Italy party, won power in October, partly on a promise to stem the flow of migrants reaching Italian shores.
The new law forces migrant aid vessels to make just one rescue attempt at a time, which critics say risks increasing the number of drownings in the central Mediterranean.
The route is considered the most dangerous crossing in the world for people seeking asylum in Europe.
A large number of people fleeing conflict and poverty for what they hope will be a better life in Europe cross from Africa via Italy.