The death toll from a migrant shipwreck off Italy on Sunday has risen to 58, Reuters reported citing provincial government official Manuela Curra, who also said 81 people have been rescued.

Reuters were told some children were among the deceased. Exact numbers for how many children had died were not yet available.

Italy's coast guard said the boat was carrying about 120 people and hit rocks "a few meters from the shore" of the southern coast of Italy's mainland. 

Local media put the number of people aboard the vessel at around 140 to 150, citing survivors.

The shipwreck took place near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on the eastern coast of Calabria, the region that forms the tip of Italy's boot in stormy weather.

Italy's Fire Department said the ship had run aground by the coast and firefighters and other emergency services were looking for more survivors, but conditions were harsh, making the search difficult.

Curra told Reuters the vessel had set sail from Türkiye's Izmir three or four days ago with migrants mostly from Afghanistan, as well as a few from Pakistan and a couple from Somalia.

"The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, expresses her deep sorrow for the many human lives cut short by human traffickers," a statement from her office said.

"The government is committed to preventing (migrant) departures, and with them the unfolding of these tragedies, and will continue to do so, first of all by demanding maximum collaboration from (migrants') countries of departure and of origin," the statement added.

Italy is one of the main landing points for migrants trying to enter Europe by sea. The so-called central Mediterranean route is known as one of the world's most dangerous.

According to the International Organization for Migration's Missing Migrants Project, 20,333 people have died or gone missing in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

(With input from Reuters)