The Italian authorities said yesterday that the death toll from a migrant boat crash near Italy’s southern coast has risen to 67.
Provincial officials added that rescuers had found the bodies of two more children, bringing the death toll of minors in Sunday’s tragedy to 16.
The boat, which authorities believe was carrying up to 200 migrants, set off from Turkey and sank in rough seas before dawn on Sunday near the “resort of Steccato di Cotro” on the eastern coast of Calabria.
The boat was wrecked while it was trying to land near the city of Qatrouna, southern Italy, last Sunday.
On board the boat were people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Iran.
The bodies of the drowned were recovered from the beach of a nearby resort in the Calouria area. Among the shipwrecked, 12 bodies of children, including an infant, were found among the shipwrecked.
The Italian Coast Guard said that it had rescued about 80 people, “including those who managed to reach the shore after the boat sank,” which means that there are more whose fate has not been determined. There were more than 20 Pakistanis on board this sunken boat, according to reports.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif commented on these reports, expressing his “deep concern and regret,” and instructed Pakistani diplomats to “verify the news as quickly as possible.”
Doctors Without Borders is helping people at the scene. From the organization, Sergio Dato says: “We have cases of children who have become orphans, including a 12-year-old Afghan child who has lost all his family members.” Speaking at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to do more to help refugees and migrants, and to strengthen safe travel routes and rescue operations.
“As long as criminal gangs control migration routes, drowning incidents will continue,” Guterres said.
The Italian coast guard said it had arrested a survivor on charges of smuggling migrants.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who was elected last year on a promise to stem the flow of migrants into Italy, said she “deeply regretted” the incident, blaming the deaths on smugglers. “It is inhumane to trade the lives of men, women and children for the price of the ticket they paid for false promises of a safe journey,” she said in a statement.
Meloni added, “Her government is committed to preventing illegal immigration and the tragic incidents that follow, and it is continuing to do so.” “People in difficulty at sea must be rescued at all costs,” said former Italian Economy Minister Carlo Calenda, but added that “illegal migration routes must be closed.”
• A call to end the “short-sighted vision”, which believes that the countries closest geographically to Africa and the Middle East must take the lead in addressing the issue of immigration.
