By: Angela Jang, Rohan Shah, and Lauren Ko
An Italian migrant boat carrying about 200 people was on its way near Crotone, Italy on Sunday, February 26, 2023. It held people from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Somalia. However, while trying to land, the vessel unexpectedly sank after crashing against rocks, leaving 63 confirmed deaths, dozens injured, and many missing.
Rescue workers and other general citizens came out to help clean the wreckage left behind. Eighty people were found alive after being able to swim back to shore after the sinking, and some bodies were found and recovered from the beach.
Many tragedies resulted from this shipwreck. A young 9 year old Afghani boy lost his older sister right next to him. A 43-year-old Afghani father and his 14-year-old son survived, but his wife and three toddlers unfortunately passed away. Family members were sobbing at the beach after first-handedly experiencing the losses of their loved ones.
The government is planning to take more initiative and enforce policies to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Prime Minister Meloni believes that the only solution is to ultimately stop migrant boat departures, especially during rough weather conditions. She states that “it is inhumane to exchange the lives of men, women, and children for the price of the ‘ticket’ they paid in the false perspective of a safe journey.”
The graph above demonstrates how dangerous journeys through the water are in the Mediterranean, as almost 26,000 people have died or gone missing since 2014.
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