Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni demands cooperation from the migrants’ countries of origin in stopping illegal migration across the Mediterranean.
Immigrants on Sunday, the carrying ship had an accident in the Mediterranean, in which at least 60 people have died. The accident happened on the Italian coast in Cutro, in the Calabria region, Reuters and AFP report.
According to the latest information from the Italian Coast Guard, at least 58 people died in the accident. The search for survivors continues.
“According to the survivors, there were 140-150 people on board the ship”, a worker in the regional administration Manuela Curra told Reuters later on Sunday.
20 of those on board the boat have been taken to hospital. One is in intensive care.
According to the Italian AGI news agency, one of the victims was a baby only a few months old, AFP reports. According to AGI, the ship had too many passengers and could not withstand the stormy seas.
In the regional administration according to Curra, who is working, the ship left Izmir, Turkey, three days ago. He says that most of those on board were from Afghanistan, some also from Pakistan and Somalia.
Many of the migrants seeking Europe, including a large number of those leaving the African continent, try to reach the continent via Italy and travel the dangerous route across the Mediterranean Sea.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni expressed his condolences to the victims of the accident in his written statement. At the same time, he demands that illegal migration from the sea be stopped, the news agency Reuters reports.
“Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expresses her deep sorrow for the many human lives cut short by human traffickers,” the Prime Minister’s statement reads.
“The government is committed to prevent [siirtolaisten] leaving and at the same time the creation of these tragedies and will continue to insist [siirtolaisten] maximum cooperation from the countries of origin”, the statement continues.
Giorgia Meloni leads the national conservative Italian Brothers party. The party has a negative attitude towards immigrants seeking to enter Italy illegally.
Also President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen comment on what happened on Sunday. Von der Leyen described the shipwreck as a tragedy and said he was deeply saddened by the death of the migrants.
At the same time, von der Leyen demanded that the EU promote the decision on the new asylum rules of the Union.
“We need to redouble our efforts [EU:n] regarding the migration and asylum agreement and the Central Mediterranean Action Plan,” writes von der Leyen.
The bodies of migrants who died at sea are believed to have washed up in Cutro, located in Calabria. Screenshot from a video shared by the Italian police.
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