Shortly before reaching the safe shore, a boat with migrants crashed off the southern Italian coast. The death toll is growing.
One day after the shipwreck off the southern Italian coast, the number of dead migrants rose to 62. Three more bodies were discovered on Monday morning, as fire brigade commander Roberto Fasano said on TV station RaiNews24. According to the Ansa news agency, some of the lifeless bodies were found in the water and on the beach a few kilometers from the Steccato di Cutro accident site.
On Sunday, the authorities initially confirmed 59 dead; According to the newspaper La Repubblica, among them were a dozen children and more than 30 women.
Around 80 people were rescued or were able to reach the Calabrian coast on their own after their boat capsized. There is still no reliable information on how many people were on the wooden cutter. Dozens of people are still missing. On Monday, clothes, toys and the head of a child’s doll lay scattered between wooden boards on the beach at Steccato di Cutro. According to initial findings, the migrants started in Izmir in Turkey last Thursday, bypassed southern Greece and then set course for southern Italy.
Alleged smuggler arrested
Despite difficult weather conditions, the helpers want to continue searching for victims and survivors. Red Cross and Doctors Without Borders workers are caring for the survivors. As a police representative confirmed on request, a man was arrested who is said to be the smuggler.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres was shocked by the “next terrible shipwreck in the Mediterranean,” as he said at the start of the UN Human Rights Council session in Geneva. He urged the international community to make more efforts. “We need safe, regulated and legal routes for migrants and refugees. As long as criminal gangs control migrant routes, people will continue to disappear.”
Italy’s right-wing government is demanding that boats with migrants and refugees be prevented from leaving for Italy.
Source: Stern
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