Italian authorities have identified 56 of the 68 fatalities of the shipwreck that occurred on Sunday, February 26, off the coast of Crotone (Calabria, southern Italy) whose bodies have been recovered, although it is feared that the number may exceed a hundred while The search for the missing continues.

The Rescue Coordination Center met this Friday to update the situation five days after the tragedy and announced that “the search will continue until the end and throughout the weekend”, the Crotone Prefecture has indicated in a statement. The work is carried out with air, naval and diving units and with ground personnel from the Coast Guard, Police Headquarters , Police, Finance Guard, Firefighters and regional Civil Protection.

It was also reported that the procedures for the repatriation of some of the bodies will begin shortly, with the presentation of the applications by the families of the victims in the City Hall of nearby Cutro.

The shipwreck, investigated by the Prosecutor’s Office

The President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarellawent to Crotone this Thursday to pay tribute to the migrants who died at sea and meet with their families, and He was the only senior State official who attended the funeral chapel. After visiting the local sports center, where the coffins were installed, Mattarella held a private meeting with the relatives of the victims, who asked him to help expedite the repatriation of the bodies to their countries of origin or where their relatives resided.

They also requested financial support for this, as well as the transfer of the survivors from the reception center where they are to a more suitable place and facilitate family reunification. the shipwreck, investigated by the Prosecutor’s Officeoccurred at dawn last Sunday when the wooden barge in which some 180 migrants had set sail from Turkey, according to the survivors, sank off the Calabrian coast, in a very rough sea. So far, 68 bodies have been recovered, including Afghans, Iranians, Pakistanis and Syrians.and about 80 people managed to survive, while the missing are being searched for.

The Crotone Prosecutor’s Office has opened a file on the operations carried out by the security forces in the hours prior to the shipwreck and has asked the Carabineros to recover the documents related to the activity of the Coast Guard and the Finance Guard, after the European Border Guard Agency and Costas, Frontex, notified them of the presence of the ship on Saturday night.

The different versions of Frontex and the Italian security forces have cast doubt on whether the tragedy could have been prevented and the new leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Elly Schlein, has called for the resignation of the Interior Minister, Matteo Piantedosi, who is very close to the far-right Matteo Salvini, Vice President of the Government.

One of the most criticized points is the decision not to consider the situation as a relief operation from the outset, which is why initially only a small device was activated with the intention of contacting the ship and Several hours passed without the boat being attended to, according to the story released by the Italian law enforcement agencies.