Shipwreck off Italy: serious malfunctions in the search and rescue chain

Relatives mourn over the coffin of one of the victims of last Sunday's shipwreck in Crotone, southern Italy, this Wednesday, March 1, 2023. AP - Antonino Durso

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While the search for people still missing continues along the Calabrian coast, several entities are implicated in the delays in the rescue to avoid the dramatic sinking of the

, name of the boat overloaded with migrants which broke in the dawn on February 26 near a beach in the province of Crotone, Italy.

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With our correspondent in Rome,

To understand the malfunctions in the search and rescue chain, we have to go back to February 25.

At 10:30 p.m., Frontex, the European border surveillance agency, reported to the authorities “ 

 ”.

This report does not in any way warn of the danger incurred by the boat.

Shortly after, the Guardia di Finanza – the financial police – under the control of the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, sent two boats, based in the ports of Crotone and Catanzaro, to intercept the boat.

But they turn around due to a strong storm.

Nothing is happening on the side of the coast guard, which depends on both the Minister of Transport Matteo Salvini and that of the Interior.

It wasn't until 4:30 a.m. on February 26 that Crotone Coast Guard Commander Vittorio Aloi received a call for search and rescue devices.

Help arrives at 5:30 a.m.

Too late, the shipwreck of the boat overloaded with migrants having already occurred.

►To re-read: Shipwreck of migrants in Italy: a burning chapel installed to meditate

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• Giorgia Meloni