© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Rescuers prepare to search for survivors after a deadly migrant shipwreck at Steccato di Cutro, near Crotone, Italy, February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli
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By Angel Lover
ROME (Reuters) – Italian prosecutors are investigating how emergency services responded to last weekend’s migrant boat disaster that killed dozens of people following allegations that authorities were slow to react, the court said. Thursday a police source.
Prosecutors in the Calabrian city of Crotone have asked the Guardia di Finanza police for documents about their actions before the boat carrying 150-200 migrants sank on the rocks a few meters from the shore last Sunday. The same request has been made to the Coast Guard, Italian media reported.
There was no immediate comment from the Coast Guard or prosecutors.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella visited the survivors at a local hospital on Thursday and handed out toys to the children. He also went to the sports center where the coffins of the victims are placed, bowing his head as he paid his respects.
Local authorities said another body was recovered on Thursday, bringing the death toll to 68. Fifty-four of the victims have now been identified: 48 Afghans, three Pakistanis, one Syrian, one Tunisian and one Palestinian.
One of the Pakistani victims was former national hockey player Shahida Raza.
QUESTIONS RAISED
The tragedy has intensified the migration debate in Europe and Italy, where the recently elected right-wing government’s tough new laws for migrant-rescue charities have drawn criticism from the United Nations and others.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has called on other European leaders to do more to stop illegal immigration and prevent further tragedies at sea.
There are also questions about emergency response.
The ship, which had set sail from Turkey, was first sighted late Saturday about 45 miles off the Calabrian coast by a plane operated by Frontex, the European Union’s border agency.
Frontex said the ship was sailing without any signs of danger, but alerted Italian authorities as its thermal cameras indicated there might be several people below deck.
The Guardia di Finanza, which guards the coast, said it sent two patrol boats, but they stopped searching for the migrants and returned to the port due to weather conditions.
The media have questioned why the Coast Guard, whose vessels are better equipped to deal with rough seas, did not deploy until receiving an emergency call the next morning.