China News Service, February 20. According to the European Union of Italy, citing the European Union News Agency, on the 19th local time, the Italian police said that the police had arrested an Egyptian national who was suspected of trafficking migrants in the Mediterranean. The smuggler had smuggled people in the Mediterranean. , resulting in the death of seven migrants due to hypothermia.
The suspects were reportedly accused of organizing a dangerous crossing of a boat carrying 287 migrants.
On January 25, most of the migrants on the ship had a cold when they were rescued by the Italian coast guard.
Seven migrants died of hypothermia on the overcrowded vessel due to poor sailing conditions, police said in a statement.
Police said the suspect was identified through survivor testimony.
After investigation, the suspect was sentenced in 2011 for a human smuggling case in Sicily.
But police did not provide further details.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), so far in 2022, 11,986 migrants have arrived in Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, and some 229 have died or gone missing while trying to reach Europe by water.
(Huang Xin)