Italy migrant boat wreck
ITALY
Italy has arrested three people who they believe trafficked up to 200 migrants aboard a wooden boat that smashed apart on rocks off southern Italy on Sunday, killing at least 64 people, police said on Tuesday.
Lieutenant Colonel Alberto Lippolis said a Turkish man and two Pakistani nationals had sailed the boat from Turkey to Italy despite the terrible weather, and were identified by survivors as “the main culprits of the tragedy”.
“According to initial investigations, they allegedly asked the migrants for about 8,000 euros ($8,485) each for the deadly journey,” said Lippolis, commander of a finance police team in the region of Calabria. “All three have been arrested.”
One of the Pakistanis was a minor, a judicial source said, adding that police were looking for a fourth suspect, who is Turkish.
The boat hit rocks and broke up early on Sunday in heavy seas near the town of Steccato di Cutro on the toe of Italy.
Rescuers pulled a dead man from the sea on Tuesday, bringing the number of bodies retrieved so far to 64, including about 14 children.
There were 80 survivors, who said that the boat had been carrying between 150 to 200 migrants.
“We will carry on searching … the sea until we are certain that we have found everyone,” said Rocco Mortato, a member of the underwater diving team of the fire brigade.
The boat had set sail from the port of Izmir in western Turkey towards the end of last week. Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, with others from Pakistan, Iran, Somalia and Syria.
Teams from the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity were providing psychological support to the survivors.
