At least 59 people, including 12 children, perished early Sunday morning when a wooden sailing vessel bringing migrants to Europe collided with rocks along the southern Italian coast, according to authorities.
The ship, which departed from Turkey and was carrying passengers from Afghanistan, Iran, and numerous other nations, sank in strong waves before morning near the coastal resort of Steccato di Cutro on the eastern coast of Calabria.
Italy Shipwreck Ignites Migration Issue in Europe
The tragedy reignited the migration issue in Europe and Italy. The recently-elected right-wing government's strict new restrictions for migrant rescue organizations have garnered criticism from the United Nations and others.
A regional government official, Manuela Curra, told Reuters that 81 individuals had survived the catastrophe. Twenty of them were hospitalized, with one individual requiring acute care. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who traveled to the area, reported that 20 to 30 individuals may still be missing, despite allegations from survivors that the vessel was carrying 150 to 200 migrants.
The shipwreck left the western Turkish city of Izmir around four days ago. It was sighted approximately 74 kilometers (46 miles) off the Italian coast late Saturday by a Frontex plane, according to Italian authorities.
The authorities dispatched patrol boats to intercept it, but strong weather forced them to return to port, police said, adding that search units were subsequently deployed along the shoreline. According to the ANSA news agency, a newborn infant was washed up on the shore.
In photographs supplied by the coastguard, timbers from the shipwreck could be seen strewn along 200 meters of shoreline, and the shattered hull could slam into the beach due to heavy waves. Per Telegraph via MSN, the central Mediterranean route from North Africa or Turkey to Europe is one of the most treacherous water crossings in the world, with an estimated 20,000 deaths since 2014.
The Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, expressed great grief for the loss of life, describing it as "inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women, and children for the price of a ticket purchased with the false hope of a safe travel." However, opposition parties and humanitarians slammed the Right-wing administration for putting strict new limits on sea rescue NGOs by limiting the number of persons they may save at sea.
A new code of conduct, enacted into law by Italy's parliament last week, mandates rescue ships to request entry to a port and sail to it "without delay" following a rescue, forbidding them from lingering at sea and searching for more migrant boats in difficulty.
Critics Blame New Asylum Restrictions
According to critics, the new limits have raised operational expenses, resulting in fewer rescue ships in the Mediterranean and reducing the likelihood of a prompt rescue in the event of disasters. In his weekly message, Pope Francis said he was praying for "every one of them, the missing and the other survivors" involved in the Italy shipwreck.
The right-wing administration of Prime Minister Matteo Meloni has sworn to prevent migrants from reaching Italy's beaches and, in recent days, has pushed through strict new rescue legislation. Former Italian finance minister Carlo Calenda stated that those in need at sea should be rescued "at any cost," but "illegal immigration routes must be blocked."
Chairperson of the European Commission Ursula van der Leyen stated that she was "deeply pained" by the occurrence and that the loss of innocent refugees' lives was a tragedy. She noted that it was essential to "redouble our efforts" to achieve headway on revising EU asylum regulations to address Europe's migratory difficulties.
Since 2014, more than 20,000 people have died or gone missing at sea in the central Mediterranean, according to monitoring organizations. Regina Catrambone, the head of the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, which conducts search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean, told the BBC that European nations must collaborate to assist people in need.
She also demanded an end to the "myopic" notion that nations physically closer to Africa and the Middle East should take the lead in addressing the problem.
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