An Italian doctor, who is reportedly facing disciplinary action after saying migrants should be “drowned,” has been lambasted on social media, with furious commentators slamming her as a “hypocrite” and demanding her sacking.

The doctor, from the central Italian region of Umbria, shocked the public when she posted on the 40,000-strong Facebook page ‘Doctors Without Escape’ the incendiary comments. Her profile name appeared as ‘Gloria Burini’.

She called for migrants landing on Italy’s coasts to be “drowned” as they do not have any “human rights,” unlike, she noted, “abandoned elderly people and poor children from Africa who are starving to death.”

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The comments were made as authorities in Italy and the EU tried to put an end to the odyssey of 177 migrants who had been stranded for six days off on a rescue boat off the coast of Italy. The 100-meter vessel Ubaldo Diciotti had been in the Sicilian port city of Catania since being rescued off the coast of Italian island Lampedusa on August 15 after being turned away by Malta. Italy has now relented and will take in the migrants after Ireland and Albania agreed to process 39 of them.

The doctor, who worked in an A&E in the Umbrian city of Spoleto, wrote on Facebook: “There are no human rights for four negroes who invade us and arrive with Nike shoes, branded tracksuits and full stomachs.”

The standoff over the Ubaldi Diciotto boat prompted Italian prosecutors to board the ship and, verifying the situation for themselves, they found some people had scabies and needed urgent medical assistance.

The doctor made reference to the prosecutor’s diagnosis as she insinuated their affliction by the deadly disease is directly proportional to “the violent crimes they’ve committed.”

According to Il Messaggero, the hospital where the doctor worked has already initiated disciplinary proceedings, with its director Luca Sapori saying such comments are “unacceptable.”

The comments were picked up by high-profile Italian journalist Selvaggia Lucarelli, who noted the irony in the doctor working at a hospital named after a saint.

Dal gruppo fb Doctorsinfuga, 40 000 iscritti. La dottoressa Gloria, che come è facile evincere dalla parole misericordiose, opera presso l’ospedale della MISERICORDIA. pic.twitter.com/i6G8G8djuS — Selvaggia Lucarelli (@stanzaselvaggia) August 26, 2018

The controversial comments saw a wave of outcry pour through Twitter, with people calling for the woman to be sacked.

Questa deve essere licenziata in tronco — Irene Vella (@IreneVella) August 27, 2018

Others mockingly said she had taken the hypocrites’ oath, not the Hippocratic Oath, usually taken by physicians when they commence their medical career.

Questa qui ha fatto il giuramento dell'ipocrita, non di Ippocrate! — patti maximum (@maxreale) August 26, 2018

Another mocked that the doctor needs… a doctor. One Twitter user noted she had won the Nobel Prize for Cowardice. While another person said she doubted someone who believes scabies is caused by violent crime could be a doctor.