After the shipwreck in southern Italy, the number of dead migrants has risen to 62. According to the fire department, three more bodies were discovered in the morning. The lifeless bodies were found in the water and on the beach several kilometers from the Steccato di Cutro accident site, the Ansa news agency reported.
In Italy and other countries, dismay and outrage prevailed. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) spoke of “another terrible tragedy”.
According to the newspaper La Repubblica, a dozen children and more than 30 women are among the victims. The aid organization Doctors Without Borders reported that entire families died in the accident off the coast of the Calabria region. Clothing, toys and the head of a child’s doll were lying between wooden boards on the beach at Steccato di Cutro on Monday.
Around 80 people were rescued or were able to reach the shore on their own after the boat capsized. It was not yet clear on Monday how many people were on the wooden cutter. Dozens were still missing. Despite difficult weather conditions, the emergency services such as the fire brigade and coast guard wanted to continue looking for victims and survivors.
Rome: Stop migrants before they set sail
According to previous knowledge, the migrants started in Izmir in Turkey on Thursday, bypassed southern Greece and headed for southern Italy. As the police confirmed, a suspected smuggler was arrested. After the accident, Italy’s right-wing government again called for migrants to be stopped before they set sail.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres demanded: “We need safe, regulated and legal routes for migrants and refugees. As long as criminal gangs control the migrant routes, people will continue to disappear.”
According to Interior Minister Faeser, the federal government is trying to find legal migration routes. “At the same time, we limit irregular migration through migration agreements with countries of origin and by protecting the EU’s external borders,” she told the German Press Agency. “We are not blunted in the face of this need, but continue to act despite considerable resistance so that human rights are protected and migration is controlled much more effectively than has been the case up to now.” Green leader Ricarda Lang called for a state sea rescue.
