It is the umpteenth tragedy of immigrants in the Mediterranean, now near the coast of Calabria. An old ship packed with about 250 immigrants has been wrecked in a very rough sea when it crashed against the rocks a few meters from the Calabrian coast of Steccato di Cutro, 20 kilometers from Crotone, capital of the homonymous province.

The services of the Maritime Captaincy and Finance Guard have recovered some 60 bodies, including several children, including a newborn. The bodies were found this morning on Steccato beach. The boat was packed with people from Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan. At the moment there are a hundred immigrants rescued, while the search continues for another hundred of the missing. The immigrants did not have time to ask for help. Some of the survivors made it to shore under their own power. “There were more than 250 people on the boat,” some survivors have said. It was a fisherman who raised the alarm shortly before five in the morning.

The Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, has expressed her “deep sorrow for the many human lives cut short “, in a note made public by the Chigi Palace, the seat of the government headquarters: “It is criminal to launch a boat of only 20 meters in length with up to 200 people on board and with adverse weather forecasts. It is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women and children for the ‘ticket’ price paid by them in the false prospect of safe travel. The Government undertakes to prevent departures, and with them the consummation of these tragedies, and will continue to do so, first of all, demanding the maximum collaboration of the countries of departure and origin. The action of those who today speculate about these deaths, after exalting the illusion of immigration without rules, is self-explanatory,” she pointed out.
Likewise, the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, has expressed his “deep condolences for the loss of human lives” and raises the demand to avoid exits: “It is a great tragedy that shows how it is absolutely necessary to firmly counteract the networks of the irregular immigration, in which unscrupulous human traffickers operate who, in order to enrich themselves, organize these impromptu trips, with inadequate boats and in prohibitive conditions. It is essential to continue with all possible initiatives to stop exits and that crossings that, exploiting the illusory mirage of a better life, feed the chain of traffickers and cause disasters like today are not encouraged in any way.”

The Meloni government promised from the beginning of her mandate to control and reduce immigration. But he is facing the reality of a phenomenon that is very difficult to contain: Landings have tripled with the new Executive. Since the beginning of this year, more than 12,000 immigrants have arrived in Italy. Not even bad winter weather stops the outings. Only on February 18, 2,378 landed.