4 people found dead on ‘abandoned’ ship
Print Edition
FOUR migrants were found dead on a cargo ship that was taken to Italy after apparently being abandoned by its crew in Greek waters, the Italian Red Cross said yesterday.
The “Blue Sky M” was carrying about 900 migrants when it was spotted drifting near the coast of Corfu on Tuesday.
Greece sent its navy and coast guard with a military helicopter to the scene in response to an alarm call about a possible incident on the ship and Italian coast guard officials later boarded to check if it could navigate properly.
Most of the people on board were Syrian, Red Cross spokeswoman Mimma Antonagi said from the province of Lecce, where the migrants arrived.
The exact number of people on board is still not known, Antonagi said.
The dead have been taken to a hospital and survivors to public buildings where an identification process is under way. They are believed to be illegal immigrants.
Greek state television reported on Tuesday that the alarm was raised because armed men were on board, but the defense and shipping ministries did not confirm this.
Civil war in Syria and anarchy in Libya have swelled the number of people crossing the Mediterranean in rickety boats this year, often bound for Italy or Greece.
The United Nations refugee agency said 160,000 seaborne migrants had arrived in Italy as of November 2014 and a further 40,000 in Greece. Thousands more have died attempting the journey, it said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
