By Angelo Amante
CROTONE, Italy (Reuters) – The relatives of victims of Sunday’s boat wreck off Italy commemorated their loved ones on Wednesday in a sports hall in the Calabrian city of Crotone, where the coffins of more than 60 migrants who perished in the incident were laid out.
The death toll of the migrant shipwreck near the southern Italian coast has risen to 67, Italian authorities said on Wednesday, with many people still unaccounted for. Rescuers found two more children, bringing the underage victims of the tragedy to 16, provincial government officials said.
Some family members had arrived from northern Europe to mourn the dead and try to trace survivors. Rescuers said most of the migrants came from Afghanistan, with others from Pakistan, Iran, Somalia and Syria.
The vessel, which authorities believe was carrying up to 200 migrants, had set sail from Turkey and sank in rough seas near Steccato di Cutro, a seaside resort on Calabria’s eastern coast.
Locals have also been paying their respects to the victims, leaving flowers, messages, candles and other mementoes by metal railings outside the sports arena.
“I’ve felt very affected by this situation. I didn’t come only this morning, I have been here for days and I’ve seen how the number of dead has been rising,” Giovanni Antonio Marsala, a 53-year-old resident of Crotone, told Reuters.
The tragedy has intensified a debate on migration 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.
In Italy, controversy raged over whether the coast guard and police could have done more to prevent the shipwreck.
Authorities have said that patrol boats were sent to intercept the migrants, but severe weather forced them to return to port. Police then mobilised search units along the coastline, and found bodies washed ashore.
Crotone port authority commander Vittorio Aloi told journalists that all correct procedures were followed.
“I am humanly tried (by the tragedy) but on a professional level I am fine, I can assure you,” he said before entering the sports hall.
A separate polemic has involved Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, for remarks in which he appeared to be blaming migrants and traffickers for embarking on dangerous sea journeys with their families.
Hundreds of thousands of migrants have reached Italy by boat over the past decade, fleeing conflict and poverty back home. Last year there were more than 105,000 landings, including about 15% from boats that had departed from Turkey.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante, writing by Cristina Carlevaro and Alvise Armellini, editing by Federico Maccioni and Bernadette Baum)
