Italy road crash close to Foggia kills 12 African farm labourers

African migrants living in poverty in Calabria, 24 Jan 17 Image copyright Getty Pictures Image caption Many Africans like these reside in desperate poverty in southern Italy

Twelve African farm labourers have died in a head-on collision between a van and a lorry close to Lesina in the Foggia area of southern Italy.

The labourers were getting back from the fields, packed into a van which had Bulgarian number plates.

3 folks have been injured within the crash, including the lorry driving force.

Four migrant farm employees died in the same crash in the same area on Saturday. Many seasonal staff employed by gangs in Italy get very meagre pay.

After Saturday’s crash a union of farm labourers announced a strike for Wednesday, with a “red hat” march to Foggia – a mark of solidarity with the 4 who died. The red hats symbolise the hats worn by tomato pickers in the fields round Foggia.

Their pay is as low as one euro for choosing 100kg (221lb) of tomatoes.

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Stipulations are very precarious for lots of African migrants in Italy, where the populist government is attempting to prevent people-smuggling gangs sending extra boatloads from Libya.

The boats are perilously overcrowded and more than 1,500 other folks have drowned crossing the Mediterranean this yr, the UN refugee company says.

More than 650,000 migrants – most commonly from sub-Saharan Africa – have come ashore in Italy considering that 2014, stretching instruments in regions already struggling with prime unemployment.

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