Italy has raised from the sea floor a migrant ship that sank off Sicily last year, causing the deaths of between 700-800 people. Prime Minister Renzi has vowed to identify and bury all that were trapped on board.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/Italian Navy Press Office
Using a complicated pulley system and robotic arms to ensure that none of the bodies were lost, the navy was successful in lifting the vessel from a depth of 370 meters (1,214 feet) and begin the task of towing it to Sicily.
The risky operation was carried out by two independent diving and heavy lifting companies under the military's supervision.
Rome has vowed to identity, using DNA or fingerprints, every one of the bodies on board and afford them a proper burial. Some 169 victims of the tragedy have already been recovered near the wreckage by divers over the past few months.
The April 15, 2015 wreck saw only 28 passengers rescued on a boat carrying upwards of 700 migrants, most of them African. The hundreds drowned as they were locked below decks when the vessel capsized, as the smugglers bringing them to Europe fled at the sight of a civilian freighter.
The ship containing the refugees then collided with the Portuguese merchant vessel, which had been responding to its SOS signal.
The incident was one of the deadliest in a series of tragedies in the Mediterranean that has cost the lives of more than 10,000 people since Europe's influx of refugees began to gather steam in mid-2013. Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has said that the expensive salvage and identification operations are to highlight the individual human cost of the migrant crisis and its causes.
es/jr (AP, AFP)
Dramatic images of capsized migrant boat
The Italian Navy has captured the moment when a heavily overcrowded boat capsized off the coast of Libya. The Navy rescued 562 people, including all of the children on board.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Italian Navy/Handout
Common mistake
Migrants on board the blue fishing vessel rushed to one side of their boat when they spotted a rescue ship. As a result, the boat listed sharply to one side, then capsized, and later began to sink. Such sudden movements of people aboard ships are responsible for numerous tragic incidents in the Mediterranean.
Image: Reuters/Marina Militare
Dropping like stones
Once the boat tipped to a vertical position, people fell into water like stones, Navy personnel reported. The mishap happened some 18 nautical miles off the coast of Libya on Wednesday.
Image: Reuters/Marina Militare
Belly up
Moments later, the fishing vessel capsized completely, prompting migrants to swim away from the boat.
Image: Reuters/Marina Militare
Rescue operation
Two Italian Navy ships – the Bettica and Bergamini – first helped drowning migrants with life jackets and rafts. Later, the rescued people were taken to Sicily, where nearly 40,000 migrants have arrived so far this year.
Image: Reuters/Marina Militare
Casualties
At least five migrants drowned in the incident. The Italian Navy managed to rescue 562 people, including 43 children, 10 of whom were babies rescued by the Navy ship Bettica.
Image: Reuters/Marina Militare
Sad Figures
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), at least 1,370 migrants have died so far this year trying to make the perilous sea journey to Europe.
Image: Reuters/H. Amara
Matter of concern
European officials are concerned that with the onset of better weather a fresh flood of migrants will try to make the dangerous journey from Libya to Europe. The majority of those using Libya as a springboard to reach Europe are from sub-Saharan Africa.
