The Afghanistan embassy in Italy said in a statement that 48 dead bodies of Afghan migrants who lost their lives in a shipwreck off the southern coast of Italy will be returned to Afghanistan.

The embassy said the bodies of 48 Afghans have been identified and death certificates for 46 have been issued.

The statement added that the efforts to transfer bodies to Kabul have been successful and the bodies now with the Italian authorities will be transferred after an administrative and diplomatic process.

“To prevent illegal migration, the grounds for proper living conditions should be made, and legal migration should be facilitated,” said Zabiullah Stanikzai, a refugee rights activist.

Qaisar, a survive of the incident, said that 53 people were rescued from 182 migrants.

“When we left Turkey, it was our fifth night, the boat ran aground and broke. When the water leaked into the boat, we were at the bottom. Around 100 people were at the bottom, it was less than two or three minutes for the water to come in, some saved themselves and the rest were stranded there,” said Qaisar, a Pakistan migrant in Italy.

This comes as residents of Kabul named poverty and the economic crisis in the country as the main reason for the migration of Afghans.

“Our youth also are leaving Afghanistan because of poverty and unemployment. I have a bachelor's degree but I cannot find a job and the problems are massive,” said Samiullah, a resident of Kabul.

“Our youth are going illegally and losing their lives at sea,” said Faridon, a resident of Kabul.

According to the Afghan embassy in Italy, there were at least 180 people in the boat that was wrecked off the southern coast of Italy.