Pope Francis has described the sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Italy as a “disgrace”.
‘‘The word disgrace comes to me,’’ the Pope said during an audience, calling for prayers on behalf of the dead and their families. ‘‘Let us unite our efforts so that similar tragedies do not happen again. Only a decided collaboration among all can help to stop them.’’
The ship carrying African migrants to Europe caught fire and capsized on Thursday off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 133 people as hundreds were dumped into the sea, officials said.
Over 150 people were rescued but about 200 were still unaccounted for.
It was one of the deadliest recent accidents in the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing that thousands of African migrants make every year, seeking a new life in the European Union.
Smugglers charge thousands of dollars a head to slip people into Europe aboard overcrowded, barely seaworthy fishing boats, providing no life vests or other safety features.
“We need only caskets, certainly not ambulances,” Pietro Bartolo, chief of health services on Lampedusa, told Radio 24.
“It’s an immense tragedy,” said Lampedusa Mayor Giusi Nicolini.
Italy’s coast guard later said divers saw at least another 20 bodies around the boat, which was now lying on the bottom of the sea.
Lampedusa is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland — a mere 113 kilometres off the coast of Tunisia — and is the frequent destination for smugglers’ boats.
The 20-metre boat was believed to be carrying 450 to 500 people, according to the International Organisation for Migration. The boat left from Tripoli with migrants from Eritrea, Ghana and Somalia, Italian coast guard spokesman Marco Di Milla told The Associated Press.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/hundreds-feared-dead-as-migrant-boat-sinks-off-italy-20131003-2uxj4.html#ixzz2giZWNuwl
