The first distress call came at around 4 am on Sunday night, just before the shipwreck. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi expressed this in his report on the events in Cutro, which informed the Parliament of what had happened in the days and hours before the tragedy on February 26.
The minister explained that activating the entire search and rescue (SAR) system “cannot be separated from the emergency signal”. The SAR device is activated if and only if such a signal is present. On the other hand, wherever. , if a hazard is not reported, the operation is being managed as a police response, due to what has been observed previously regarding the rescue capacity of our naval units. That’s exactly what happened in the case in question.”
According to the minister, “Italian authorities need help” only happens late at night around the international number 4, which is geographically determined and transmitted by the operator of the Crotone Carabinieri Provincial Command Operations Center. geographic coordinates, to the Crotone Port Authority’s Operations Room”.
As for Frontex’s report, Piantedosi said the European agency’s plane “spotted the ship 40 nautical miles from Italy at 22:26 on 25 February” but “did not detect it and therefore did not report a distress situation on board”. limited itself to emphasizing the presence of one person on deck, the possible presence of others below deck, and the boat’s good buoyancy”.
Return of smugglers and shipwreck
“We go back to the moments just before the shipwreck, and thus the survivors’ stories,” Piantedosi said, “the navigation continued until about 3:50 a.m. when the flashing lights from the boat from the shore were seen, about 200 meters offshore, and at this point the smugglers were told that the police were along the shore. Fearing its presence, they make a sharp turn to change direction to get away from this part of the sea.
At this very point, the boat, which finds itself very close to the shore and in the middle of high waves, probably hits shallow water and starts to take on water due to the breaking of the lower part of the hull. .
Again, according to the testimonies of the survivors, “At this time, two of the smugglers jumped into the water, the third was stopped by the immigrants so that they would not leave them alone in the stranded boat; meanwhile, many other Immigrants went to the bridge to look for other Immigrants, and the smuggler who remained on the ship took advantage of the moment of turmoil and left the boat with a small rubber boat. He managed to dodge and then boarded the other two smugglers and headed for the shore. Just then, a strong wave overturns the hull of the boat and all the migrants fall into the sea as the boat disappears”.
Four days before departure, 180 people on board
The interior minister reported that the boat left Cesme at around 3:00 am on 22 February in optimum weather conditions. “Turks and two Pakistanis”. “Three hours after the start of the voyage, two smugglers, whose engine malfunctioned, contacted an accomplice via mobile phone. After waiting for another three hours, a second boat piloted by the other three smugglers joined the migrants. After the transfer of the migrants, the cruise continued towards the Italian coast. During the cruise, the migrants would be forced to stay below deck: the smugglers took them “on deck for just a few minutes to get some air”
72 victims, fourth smuggler still wanted
“Given the balance is not yet certain, updates from Crotone prefecture bring the number of victims to 72, 28 of them minors and 80 survivors. 54 of them are hosted at the local Asylum Seeker Reception Center (Cara), Crotone,” Piantedosi said. In the Sai System, 12 people, eight of whom were hospitalized, two unaccompanied minors were placed in special facilities, and three possibly smugglers were arrested. The survivors are Afghans, Iranians, Pakistanis, Palestinians, Syrians and Somalis.
Regarding the investigations, the minister explained that “the search for a fourth smuggler continues and developments will not be ruled out in the next few hours” and that “two Pakistanis, a Turkish citizen and a minor, have been arrested”.
The minister then announced in the courtroom the number of rescues at sea since the executive took office. “From October 22, 2022 to February 27, 2023, our Authorities managed 407 SAR incidents, saving 24,601 people. During the same period, only the Guardia di Finanza saved 11,888 people during 300 police operations to combat illegal immigration. In total, 36,489 people were rescued between Sar and law enforcement. Therefore, the available data is completely unfounded, with law enforcement also unable to perform a recovery”.
Piantedosi: “I didn’t want to blame the victims”
In a statement, Piantedosi responded to criticism leveled at the management: “To claim that rescue operations are conditional or hindered by the government is a lie that offends the dignity and professionalism of operators who work at sea every day, especially in difficult scenarios.” .
The minister also clarified the meaning of his own words after the massacre (“despair can never justify journeys that put one’s children in danger”). “When I appealed so that people’s lives would no longer fall into the hands of vile criminals,” he said in the courtroom, “I was talking about the seriousness of the criminal act,” he said.
Source: Today IT
Emma Fitzgerald is an accomplished political journalist and author at The Nation View. With a background in political science and international relations, she has a deep understanding of the political landscape and the forces that shape it.
