Italy recovers 14 dead in 2 days on smugglers’ boats
Italian officials say that 14 bodies have been recovered in a two-day period from smugglers’ boats packed with migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.
The Italian Coast Guard says the dead included a 25-year-old pregnant woman. In all 5,700 migrants were rescued from dozens of small boats and rubber dinghies on Friday and Saturday.
Premier Matteo Renzi appealed to his European partners to come up with a fundamental solution to the migrant issue during a visit to Sicily on Saturday, saying, “We cannot go on this way.” He called for financial penalties for Eastern European countries that refuse to take in migrants.
The International Organization for Migrants says at least 3,650 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year.
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