Search and rescue efforts continued Sunday after a makeshift wooden boat carrying more than a hundred migrants crashed into the rocky reefs off the coast of southern Italy before dawn. 

The death toll climbed to at least 60 people, the Italian outlet Tgr Rai Calabria reported. 

The Italian Coast Guard previously said at least 43 migrants perished, while at least 80 others were recovered alive. 

Manuela Curra, a provincial government official, told Reuters the craft left Izmir in eastern Turkey three or four days ago with between 140 and 150 people aboard. She added that most of those who survived the crash were from Afghanistan, as well as a few from Pakistan and a couple from Somalia. The nationalities of the deceased were not immediately confirmed. 

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Guardia di Finanza, customs police in Italy, said one of the survivors has been arrested on migrant trafficking charges, according to Reuters. 

Video shared by the Italian Coast Guard showed wreckage from the wooden gullet, a Turkish sailing boat, washed up onto the beach. Rescue boats were seen in the water off Crotone, a port city in Calabria, southern Italy, and the coast guard also shared footage of a helicopter flying over the washed-up debris in search of survivors. 

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Women and children were among the dead, Cutro's mayor, Antonio Ceraso, said, according to Reuters. He told SkyTG24 news channel that he had seen "a spectacle that you would never want to see in your life," describing "a gruesome sight ... that stays with you for all your life."

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said that the migrants were crowded into a 66-foot-long boat in "adverse weather conditions." In a statement released by her office, she expressed "her deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers."

"It's inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the ‘price’ of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect for a safe voyage," Meloni, a far-right-wing leader whose governing allies include the League party, which prioritizes border security and combating illegal immigration.

She vowed to use her leadership to press for crackdowns on departures arranged by human smugglers and to press fellow European Union leaders to help Italy in her quest.

Meloni has supported stricter laws overseeing NGO's and charities catering to migrants, arguing the groups incentivize dangerous sea crossings. Those laws reportedly won parliamentary approval Thursday. In a statement, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said such sea crossings offer migrants an "illusory mirage of a better life" in Europe, enriching traffickers and contributing to these tragedies, according to Reuters. 

A chunk of the boat, along with piles of splintered wood, littered the beach at Steccato di Cutro, part of Calabria's coastline along the Ionian sea. Some of the survivors tried to keep warm, wrapped in what appeared to be colorful blankets or sheets.

A helicopter and motorboats were deployed in search efforts, including vessels from state firefighters, border police and the coast guard.

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A Coast Guard motorboat rescued two men suffering from hypothermia and recovered the body of a boy in the rough seas, it said in a statement. Firefighter boats, including rescue divers, recovered 28 bodies, including three pulled by a strong current far away from the wreckage.

The Italian news agency AGI said that among the bodies was that of a baby a few months old.

Pope Francis on Sunday lamented that children were among the shipwreck victims.

"I pray for each of them, for the missing and the other migrants who survived," Francis told the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

The pontiff added he also was praying for the rescuers "and for those who give welcome" to the migrants.

"It's an enormous tragedy," Crotone Mayor Vincenzo Voce told RAI state TV.

"In solidarity, the city will find places in the cemetery" for the dead, Voce said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a slow-down on Norfolk Southern's plans to dispose of waste from the site of the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment until it can review the process.

The EPA says Norfolk Southern had previously been responsible for plans to dispose of toxic waste related to the derailment, but the EPA has taken over that process. Officials in Michigan and Texas have complained after receiving shipments of toxic waste with little warning to local officials. 

"EPA will ensure that all waste is disposed of in a safe and lawful manner at EPA-certified facilities to prevent further release of hazardous substances and impacts to communities," the agency said in a statement, according to the New York Post.

It added that plans "will be subject to EPA review and approval moving forward."

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Roughly 2 million gallons of firefighting water is expected to be delivered to Harris County, Texas in the coming weeks for disposal. About half a million gallons have already been shipped to the county, leading to frustration from local officials.

"It’s a very real problem; we were told yesterday the materials were coming only to learn today they’ve been here for a week," Judge Lina Hidalgo told CNN last week.

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President Biden's administration has faced heavy criticism for its handling of the Ohio derailment in recent weeks, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg personally visiting the site last week. Many critics argued the visit came too late, however, with nearly three weeks passing since the Feb. 3 crash.

Buttigieg himself admitted he waited too long to respond publicly when speaking to reporters in Ohio last week.

"The answer to your question is yes," Buttigieg said, acknowledging that letting a week and a half go by before tweeting about the train derailment was too long. He told reporters he had tried to "balance" his desire to get involved with the "norm of transportation secretaries" — which is to permit the proper regulatory authorities to work without his interference.

"I felt strongly about this and could have expressed that sooner," the secretary continued. "Again, I was taking pains to respect the role that I have and the role that I don't have, but that should not have stopped me from weighing in about how I felt about what was happening to this community." 

Fox News' Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report