62 confirmed dead after migrants shipwreck in Italy
● Approximately 170 people were on board ● About 100 are feared dead; 62 confirmed ● 200+ have gone missing since 2014
Italy's shores. (AFP - Getty Images)
Survivors reports that the ship, which set off from Turkey last week, had carried about 170 people including natives of Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Iran.
The boat reportedly hit rocks and broke apart on Sunday while trying to land near Crotone a few meters off the coast of Italy after it set out from Turkey.
At least 80 people survived Sunday’s shipwreck off the Calabrian coast, but rescue crews recovered about 62 bodies including those of 12 children and the corpse of a young man on Monday morning.
Speaking at the UN's Human Rights Council in Geneva on Monday morning, Secretary-General António Guterres called on countries to do more to help refugees and migrants, and for safer travel routes and strengthened rescue operations.
Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who has spearheaded Italy’s crackdown on migration, visited the scene Sunday and met with local officials in Crotone. At a news conference, he insisted the solution was to put an end to migrant crossings at their origin.
According to monitoring groups, more than 20,000 people have died or gone missing at sea in the central Mediterranean since 2014.
Some days ago I heard there was a ship with refugees from Turkey that the greek coast guards were looking for but I don't know what happened with it eventually. But it's an every day thing. Our (european) countries have been committing crimes against humanity for years now that way.
Very difficult issue this. Is it a matter of them putting themselves in the hands of an agent or is there a hefty dose of neivity going on here with the idea of the agent being ok
@Royrogers The only ones committing such crimes are the tin-pot war-lords and despots destroying countries and cultures as in Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia; and the trafficking gangs.
The latter charge the refugees and emigrants a lot of money up-front but care nothing for their safety and regard them as just as disposable as the boats.
Large-scale organised-crime has moved in on it, and those using the English Channel buy many of their boats made to order to very low cost so very unseaworthy in Turkey, using Chinese-made engines but changing the data-labels to disguise having saved money by buying ones too under-powered for the task.
