- Title: Navy captain recounts migrant boat tragedy as survivors arrive in Sicilian port
- Date: 26th May 2016
- Summary: PORT EMPEDOCLE, ITALY (MAY 26, 2016) (REUTERS) ITALIAN NAVY SHIP "BETTICA" CARRYING RESCUED MIGRANTS AND BODIES OF SHIPWRECK VICTIMS APPROACHING PORT MIGRANTS ON DECK AS SHIP DOCKS IN PORT MIGRANTS SEATED IN ROWS ON DECK EMERGENCY WORKERS ON PORT SIDE BY SHIP MIGRANTS SEATED ON DECK RESCUERS CARRYING MIGRANT ON STRETCHER DOWN GANG PLANK MIGRANTS LINED UP ON DECK LOOKING ON FEMALE MIGRANTS BEING HELPED WALK DOWN GANG PLANK COFFIN BEING PREPARED ON QUAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) COMMANDER OF THE ITALIAN NAVY SHIP BETTICA, FRANCESCO IAVAZZO, SAYING: "From the very first moment I saw the boat capsizing the first reaction, I would say human reaction, was like being frozen from what you were looking at, from what was happening in front of your eyes. But it was not possible to be frozen. We needed to react so what I did was to act as a commanding officer, to give orders and put my ship as close as possible to the wreckage in order to let my crew throw into the water whatever could be used for people to grab, to float, to survive. That's what we did. Yes, strong emotion of course but sometimes you need to manage your emotion and look at what you need to do in the moment, on the spot. We try to do that." COFFIN BEING CARRIED FROM SHIP EMERGENCY WORKERS CARRYING COFFINS AND PLACING THEM IN HEARSE HEARSES LEAVING PORT (SOUNDBITE) (Italian) SPOKESPERSON FOR SAVE THE CHILDREN IN SICILY, GIOVANNA DI BENEDETTO, SAYING: "The current system definitely needs to be improved and it is important to expand the network of the reception centres because the number of minors arriving this year is much higher than in the same period last year. It is important that not only is the network of reception centres expanded but also that the quality of all the structures is adjusted because the standards currently vary very much. There are structures that have the high standards that meet all the requirements of minors, whereas others have very low standards."
- Embargoed: 10th June 2016 20:18
- Keywords: Italy migrants survivors ship capsize Mediterranean
- Location: PORT EMPEDOCLE AND LAMPEDUSA, ITALY AND AT SEA
- City: PORT EMPEDOCLE AND LAMPEDUSA, ITALY AND AT SEA
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA0014JG5J5Z
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Over 500 survivors from a boat that capsized in the Mediterranean arrived in the Sicilian port of Empedocle on Thursday (May 26).
Some 562 people were rescued from the ship which appeared to be a wooden fishing vessel and five bodies recovered.
Dramatic video has been released by the navy of the moment the ship capsized tipping the migrants into the sea.
Francesco Iavazzo, the captain of the Italian navy ship "Bettica" which came to the rescue of the migrants said the sight of the shipwreck was paralysing.
"From the very first moment I saw the boat capsizing the first reaction, I would say human reaction, was like being frozen from what you were looking at, from what was happening in front of your eyes. But it was not possible to be frozen. We needed to react so what I did was to act as a commanding officer, to give orders and put my ship as close as possible to the wreckage in order to let my crew throw into the water whatever could be used for people to grab, to float, to survive. That's what we did. Yes, strong emotion of course but sometimes you need to manage your emotion and look at what you need to do in the moment, on the spot. We try to do that," he said.
Boat arrivals in Italy have risen sharply this week amid warm weather and calm seas, and about 20 rescue operations are currently under way, a coast guard spokesman said.
Particularly, the number of unaccompanied minors has risen this year, says Save The Children.
The organisation's Sicily spokesperson, Giovanna di Benedetto, said many reception centres were still ill-equipped to look after the many children arriving in Europe.
"The current system definitely needs to be improved and it is important to expand the network of the reception centres because the number of minors arriving this year is much higher than in the same period last year. It is important that not only is the network of reception centres expanded but also that the quality of all the structures is adjusted because the standards currently vary very much. There are structures that have the high standards that meet all the requirements of minors, whereas others have very low standards," said Giovanna di Benedetto.
Meanwhile, the Italian coast guard on Thursday evening released video of a 5-year-old migrant girl suffering from hypothermia being transferred to the island of Lampedusa for urgent medical care after she has been rescued from a boat at sea.
A second migrant boat capsized in the Mediterranean on Thursday, an Italian coast guard spokesman said, and 88 people have been rescued while the number of possible dead is unknown. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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