Authorities say a wooden boat carrying 130 to 180 migrants hit rocks near a coastal town in southern Italy early Sunday morning, killing at least 59 people, including an infant. birth and other children.
The Italian coast guard said 80 people survived the wreck, saying helicopters, ships and jet skis were still searching for more survivors in “especially extreme weather conditions”. “. The death toll is expected to rise.
Authorities said the migrants were mainly from Afghanistan, but also from Iran and Pakistan, and had crossed the border from Turkey.
The shipwreck has drawn expressions of grief and demands for action from leaders across the political spectrum in Italy, where migration has long been a major topic of debate. The far-right coalition government recently enacted additional restrictions on charities that operate migrant rescue ships, although these organizations do not operate in the waters off Calabria, the area where the latest tragedy occurred. .
In video released by police, beams and wooden planks can be seen next to a boat-like structure on the beach of Steccato di Cutro, a small seaside town on Calabria’s east coast. Italian news outlets showed survivors wrapped in thermal blankets sitting in a field near the beach, while a priest blessed the bodies of their dead companions, hidden under umbrellas nearby white bag.
Authorities said the bodies were found at Steccato di Cutro, but also to the south.
Calabria, which forms the toe of Italy, is geographically the easiest destination for migrant ships traveling from Turkey. It was home to about 15% of the 105,000 migrants who arrived in Italy last year, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella called the shipwreck “the 11th tragedy in the Mediterranean that leaves anyone indifferent”.
He called on the international community to address the causes of migration, and issued an unusually scathing statement: “It is indispensable that the European Union ultimately bears concrete responsibility” to control it. control migration and get it out of the hands of traffickers.
During Sunday’s prayer, Pope Francis addressed the victims of the shipwreck off Calabria, thanking all those involved in the rescue operations and those who will provide shelter.
“I pray for them,” he said, referring to migrants on the Calabrian coast. “For those who have died, and for those who are still alive.”
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also echoed his words, who expressed “deep sadness” in a statement but added that those lives had been “disrupted by traffickers,” alluding to the government. her government efforts to prevent departure.
Italy’s Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, said, “It is a great tragedy that shows the absolute need for resolute action against illegal channels of migration.” He added it was “necessary” to stop the crossings that give migrants the “illusory illusion of a better life” in Europe, enrich traffickers and “cause tragedies like today’.
Members of Italy’s coalition government have long campaigned against immigration and have proposed anti-immigration policies. Ms. Meloni, leader of the far-right Brotherhood of Italy party, often promotes a “navy blockade” of the sea to hinder arrivals.
Measures she has taken in government so far appear more limited in scope.
Arguing that the presence of charity boats in the central Mediterranean encourages migrants to cross the seas, Ms Meloni’s cabinet recently adopted a code of conduct for ships assisting migrants that will limit their time at sea.
Under the new law, ships must seek to approach a port and get there “without delay” after each rescue. Authorities have increasingly designated such ships to access ports in northern Italy, far from migration routes.
Afterward a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily in 2013Where 368 With migrants dying when their boat capsized, Europe launched a large-scale search and rescue campaign that lasted for years.
When funds ran out, however, that mission was reduced in scope, and national governments were reluctant to take on additional search and rescue responsibilities, leaving most of the patrols in the central Mediterranean to organizations. non-governmental organization.
Although only a small fraction of migrants arriving in Italy do so on ships operated by such organisations, they have become targets for successive governments of Italy seek to demonstrate anti-migration action. By contrast, rescue organizations argue that restricting their activities only increases the dangers migrants face.
The central Mediterranean has historically been one of the most dangerous routes for migrants trying to reach Europe. According to the International Organization for Migration, in 2022, 1,417 people have died while crossing the sea. The number of deaths has been particularly high this month, with 158 recorded in the weeks leading up to Sunday’s shipwreck, compared with 132 in February last year.
On Sunday, the International Organization for Migration called on countries to strengthen their search and rescue system at sea, calling it “incomplete” and opening up conventional immigration channels.
“This is not a quantitative emergency,” the organization wrote on Twitter. “It’s humanitarian.”
