Rescuers find 60th body off Italy after migrant boat breaks apart

STECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy — 

Rescue crews searched by oversea and aerial Monday for nan dozens of group believed still missing from a shipwreck disconnected Italy’s confederate seashore that drove location erstwhile again nan desperate and vulnerable crossings of migrants seeking to scope Europe.

At slightest 80 group survived Sunday’s shipwreck disconnected nan Calabrian coast, but rescue crews recovered 60 bodies, including those of respective children and nan corpse of a young man Monday morning. Dozens much group were feared dormant fixed subsister reports that nan ship, which group disconnected from Turkey past week, had carried astir 170 people.

The formation astatine Steccato di Cutro, connected Calabria’s Ionian coast, was littered pinch nan splintered remains of nan ship, which collapsed isolated successful stormy seas connected nan reefs offshore, arsenic good arsenic pinch nan belongings that nan migrants had brought pinch them, including a toddler’s mini pinkish sneaker and a yellowish integrative pencil lawsuit dressed up pinch pandas.

There were only a fewer life jackets scattered amid nan debris.

On Monday, 2 seashore defender vessels searched nan seas northbound to southbound disconnected Steccato di Cutro while a chopper flew overhead and a four-wheel conveyance patrolled nan beach. A beardown upwind whipped nan seas that still churned up splinters of nan ship, state tanks, nutrient containers and shoes. A pickup motortruck came to return distant nan assemblage of nan latest discovered victim.

Firefighter Inspector Giuseppe Larosa said what devastated nan first rescue crews who arrived connected nan segment was really galore children were killed, and that nan bodies of nan dormant had scratches each complete them, arsenic if they had tried to bent onto nan vessel to prevention themselves.

“It was a chilling scene. Bodies dispersed retired connected nan beach, truthful galore bodies, truthful galore children,” he said connected nan formation Monday morning. He said he had focused connected nan betterment efforts, but he was struck by what he recovered successful nan survivors.

“What struck maine was their silence,” he said. “Terror successful their eyes, but mute. Silent.”

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, who has spearheaded Italy’s crackdown connected migration, visited nan segment Sunday and met pinch section officials successful Crotone. At a news conference, he insisted that nan solution was to put an extremity to migrant crossings astatine their origin.

“I inquire myself really it’s imaginable that these crossings are organized, pushing women and children to make nan trips that extremity up tragically dangerous,” he said.

Italy’s authorities nether Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has focused connected trying to block migrant ships from departing, while discouraging humanitarian rescue teams from operating successful nan Mediterranean. Meloni said Sunday that nan authorities was committed to that argumentation “above each by insisting connected nan maximum collaboration pinch nan countries of root and departure.”

Italy has complained bitterly for years that chap European Union countries person balked astatine taking successful migrants, galore of whom are aiming to find family aliases activity successful Northern Europe. Italy is simply a premier destination, particularly for smuggling operations launching boats from Libyan shores.

But Italy is besides a destination for smugglers leaving from Turkey. According to United Nations figures, arrivals from nan Turkish way accounted for 15% of nan 105,000 migrants who arrived connected Italian shores past year, pinch astir half of those fleeing from Afghanistan.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for a redoubling of efforts to woody pinch nan problem.

“The resulting nonaccomplishment of life of guiltless migrants is simply a tragedy,” she said.

Meloni’s authorities has concentrated connected complicating efforts by humanitarian boats to make aggregate rescues successful nan cardinal Mediterranean by assigning them ports of disembarkation on Italy’s bluish coasts. That intends nan vessels request much clip to return to nan oversea aft bringing migrants aboard and taking them safely to shore.

Humanitarian organizations person lamented that nan crackdown besides includes an bid to nan kindness boats not to stay astatine oversea aft nan first rescue cognition successful hopes of performing different rescues, but to caput instantly to their assigned port. Violators look stiff fines and confiscation of rescue vessels.