At least 59 dead in southern Italy: “A tragedy you never want to experience”

The search for other victims of the disaster off Italy’s coast has ended for the time being, a number of people are still missing. The community cemetery is overwhelmed with the many dead. The government sees its course confirmed.

When it gets dark and the waves of the choppy sea off the coast of Calabria get even bigger, Giuseppe La Rosa gives the signal to stop the search for survivors for the time being. The head of the responsible fire and rescue services is exhausted.

However, the impressions of the morning, when the fire brigade commander was one of the first to arrive at the scene of the accident south of Crotone, cannot get out of his head: “It was a picture that I would never have wanted to experience”. The beach was littered with victims and the boat was completely destroyed. What hit him hardest was “that there were many children among the victims.”

So far 59 dead – including twelve children

The tragedy began before dawn when a fishing boat with migrants on board headed for a beach on the Calabrian coast in stormy seas and darkness. In the immediate vicinity of the saving bank, the boat probably hit a rock and broke apart. The people on board fell into the water, many of them had no chance in the high waves and drowned.

A total of 59 people died, the responsible rescue control center said in the evening. The bodies washed up on the surrounding beaches or were pulled out of the water by rescue workers. At least twelve children are said to be among the victims, the youngest only a few months old.

Local cemetery is not enough

Shock is felt by everyone involved in the rescue work. Also with Antonio Ceraso, mayor of the nearby municipality of Cutro, who helped coordinate the relief efforts from the start. Like fireman La Rosa, he speaks of a “terrible tragedy that you never want to experience”.

For the burial, the mayor says he must ask the neighboring towns of Cutros for help. He fears that “due to so many victims, we won’t have enough space.”

Probably a lot of missing people

About 80 people survived the accident, according to the rescue control center. They were taken to a reception center in Isola di Capo Rizzuto, in the province of Crotone.

The authorities corrected the information on the origin of the survivors in the evening. Accordingly, the people come from Pakistan, Turkey, Afghanistan and Somalia, among others – not from Iran, Iraq and Syria, as various Italian media reported during the day. The boat is said to have left Izmir in Turkey four days ago.

It is still unclear how many people were on board in total. At the beginning, the Italian media called the number 250, but the authorities are now assuming 150 to 180. According to this, up to 40 people are still missing. The search for them is to resume tomorrow after dawn.

Government sees itself confirmed in its policy

The catastrophe off the Calabrian coast has sparked renewed discussion of migration policy in Italy. During a visit to the scene of the accident, Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi emphasized that the government would stick to its course: “We are deeply convinced that the departures of the boats must be stopped.” If this principle were enforced, Piantedosi was convinced, “such tragedies, such situations would decrease.”

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her dismay at the accident and accused those who organized the crossings of “inhumanity”. Like her interior minister, she emphasized that the Italian government is working together around the Mediterranean to prevent migrant boats from sailing.

Opposition representatives, on the other hand, criticized the Meloni government for making rescue work by NGOs in the Mediterranean more difficult. “Doctors Without Borders” said to those responsible for politics: It was inhumane, unacceptable and incomprehensible that such “avoidable tragedies” happened. According to the UN International Organization for Migration, more than 2,400 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean Sea last year or are missing.