Italy: Migrants Paid 8,000 Euros Each for ‘Voyage of Death’

Italy: Migrants Paid 8,000 Euros Each for ‘Voyage of Death’
Firefighters search among debris washed ashore by sea at a beach near Cutro, southern Italy, on Feb. 27, 2023. Giovanni Isolino/LaPresse via AP
The Associated Press
Updated:

CROTONE, Italy—Rescue teams pulled more bodies from the sea on Tuesday, bringing the death toll from Italy’s latest migration tragedy to 65, as prosecutors identified suspected smugglers who allegedly charged 8,000 euros (nearly $8,500) for each person making the “voyage of death” from Turkey to Italy.

Authorities delayed a planned viewing of the coffins to allow more time for identification of the bodies, as desperate relatives and friends arrived in the Calabrian city of Crotone in hope of finding their loved ones, some of whom hailed from Afghanistan.