International News

ROME, (APP/AFP): An operation to salvage a sunken
migrant boat packed with corpses was suspended on Friday due
to bad weather, the Italian navy said.
The boat’s sinking last April left as many as 800 people dead
in the worst maritime tragedy in the Mediterranean since
World War II.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has vowed to give all of
the victims decent burials and the delicate and complex task
of lifting the vessel from the seabed at a depth of 380
metres (1,245 feet) got under way on Wednesday.
But weather conditions have deteriorated since then and the
navy said the operation had to be suspended.
“Recovery activity will resume in the coming days when the
weather conditions allow it progress while ensuring the safety
of personnel and equipment,” a navy statement said.
The stricken trawler sunk in pitch darkness after colliding
with a Portuguese merchant ship that had gone to its aid.
There were only 28 survivors and they estimated that around
800 people had been crowded on board when it left Italy.
Fifty bodies were recovered after the accident and another
171 since then from around the wreck, suggesting as many as
600 corpses could be brought up with the boat.