The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, called for a strong commitment from the international community to eliminate the root causes of migrant flows.
Havana, Feb 28 (RHC) The Rescue Coordination Center of the Calabrian province of Crotone, in Italy, announced Tuesday that 63 migrants have died after a shipwreck that occurred last Sunday, and could reach 100 dead.
According to the latest report of the rescue forces, reported by the newspaper Corriere della Calabria, on Tuesday morning the body of a 14-year-old girl was recovered from the sea, and a total of 79 people were found alive, but although the search continues for about 40 missing people, it is difficult to find more survivors.
The provincial prosecutor, Giuseppe Capoccia, explained that after the first investigations, three alleged human smugglers were caught. These individuals had charged up to eight thousand euros each to the more than 180 migrants who embarked on the morning of February 23rd from the coast of Izmir, Turkey.
A Turkish citizen and two Pakistanis, one of whom is a minor, have been arrested and charged with aiding and abetting illegal immigration, being responsible for a shipwreck, and manslaughter.
In this regard, the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantdosi, declared that "those fleeing from war should not depend on unscrupulous smugglers, it must be responsible and supportive policies of the States to offer them a way out of their tragedy".
In a statement released on the official website of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Italian head of government, Giorgia Meloni, pointed out that "it is inhuman to trade the lives of men, women, and children for the price of the ticket paid by them under the false perspective of a safe journey" and emphasized, starting from this case, the objective of applying new measures to prevent departures.
The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, expressed his sorrow for the shipwreck, "one more tragedy of the Mediterranean that can leave no one indifferent", and called for a strong commitment from the international community to eliminate the root causes of migrant flows".
Among these, he mentioned, "wars, persecutions, terrorism, poverty, and inhospitable territories due to climate change".
Piantedosi thanked the rescue workers, who "at the risk of their own lives, try daily to save migrants in distress in small boats drifting and sailing in conditions of grave danger".
The searches continue with the use of naval units of the Coast Guard supported by ships of the Guardia di Finanza, in addition to helicopters, patrol boats, and divers of the rescue and salvage forces, who have been working permanently since the tragedy occurred.
This Tuesday, the funeral of the victims, mostly women, and children, which already number about 14, aged between eight months and 15 years, will be held at the Crotone sports center, the source adds. (Source: PL)
