Several children have become orphans, and many children are among the dead and missing after the shipwreck in southern Italy.
Several children have become orphans after the shipwreck in southern Italy, where over 60 people have so far been found dead.
– A twelve-year-old boy from Afghanistan lost his entire family, all nine – four siblings, his parents and some other very close relatives, says Sergio di Dato.
He leads a team from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) that provides psychological help to the survivors.
David Morabito, a diver in Calabria, tells the TV channel Rai that he retrieved a small pair of twins from the sea.
– When you see the small, lifeless children’s bodies, it cuts to the heart, he says.
– So many dead children, a tragedy, he adds.
Looking for survivors
On Monday, the beach at Steccato di Cutro was strewn with wreckage from the sunken wooden boat, as well as belongings from the many people on board.
Among the objects that told of the tragedy was a pencil case in yellow plastic, decorated with panda bears, and the small pink sneakers of a child. Only a few life jackets were to be seen on the beach.
Save the Children also assists the survivors. In a Twitter message, the organization writes that many of the missing are children.
They also write that survivors have said that they heard a loud thump in the middle of the night as they approached the shore, whereupon the boat broke up and they ended up in the sea. Several experienced seeing close family members drown.
Several vessels and helicopters from the Italian coast guard are still searching, and the beaches in the area are also being patrolled as part of the search for victims. On Monday morning, three dead were found.
– Completely quiet
Envoys from the UN and MSF were on the beach and said that many of the victims came from Afghanistan. Last year, the country was in second place on the list of the number of asylum applications in Europe, as a result of the Taliban taking power in August 2021.
Rescue worker Giuseppe Larosa recounts the horrific scenes that greeted them when they first arrived on the beach in Steccato di Cutro
– There were bodies all over the beach, and there were so many children among them, he says.
Many of the dead had large wounds, as if they had been trying to cling to the wreckage for the longest time in the hope of survival, says Larosa. The survivors made an equally strong impression.
– What struck me the most was that they were so quiet. The terror in their eyes and the fact that they were silent. It was completely quiet, says Larosa.
Sailed from Turkey
The Italian authorities have rejected criticism that the rescue operation was launched too late.
They say they dispatched two rescue boats on Saturday night after being alerted by the EU’s border agency Frontex, which had spotted the 20ft boat. But they had to turn back due to high seas, according to the authorities.
Among the dead are twelve children, among them a baby who is only a few months old, according to the news agency AGI. A number of children are also missing.
The sailboat is said to have had between 170 and 200 people from Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia and Pakistan on board when it set sail from Izmir in Turkey a few days ago. On the night of Sunday, the wooden boat disintegrated off the coast of Steccato di Cutro in Calabria in southern Italy, probably after hitting a reef. All on board ended up in the sea.
81 survived the sinking, and 20 of them are now hospitalized in Italy.
The search is still on for about 20 people who are believed to be missing. On Monday morning, three more dead were found, but it was hoped to find more pigs due to the weather conditions.
Arrested
According to the Italian TV station Sky TG24, at least three people have been arrested, suspected of having participated in organizing the boat trip from Izmir in Turkey.
Italy is the main destination for people smugglers, especially for the many who cross the Mediterranean from Libya, but also from Turkey.
According to figures from the UN, 105,000 refugees and migrants reached Italy by sea last year, around 15 percent of them from Turkey. Almost half of those who came were refugees from Afghanistan.
While many previously crossed the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, they now embark on a longer and more dangerous journey south to Italy.
The Greek coast guard is accused of forcing boats to return to Turkey, and the refugee camps in Greece are overcrowded. It is also very difficult for the many who come to Greece to be reunited with family members who are in other European countries.
