Migrants, the Cutro shipwreck could have been avoided:now there are 6 suspects

On 26 February 2023, due to rough seas, 94 migrants drowned 300 meters from the Calabrian coast:there was no rescue despite the alarms.

• A year and a half after the tragedy that cost the lives of 94 migrants, the Crotone prosecutor's office closed the investigation, stating that the massacre could have been avoided.
• The list of suspects includes 4 financiers and 2 Coast Guard soldiers, accused of negligent shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.
• According to the reconstructions of the prosecutor's office, if the rescue operation had started immediately the shipwreck would not have occurred.

The Cutro shipwreck, in which 94 migrants, including 35 children, lost their lives on 26 February 2023, not only could have been avoided, but it wasn't even an accident.And they are responsible for that tragedy.After a year and a half of investigations, the Crotone prosecutor's office closed the investigation into the alleged delays in relief efforts for the Cutro shipwreck, and identified six suspects, who are now charged for negligent shipwreck and multiple manslaughter.

According to the magistrates, this tragedy could have been avoided if the rescue had been quick, since the boat Summer Love shipwrecked on a stormy night, but just 300 meters from the Calabrian coast of Steccato di Cutro.

Who are the suspects for the Cutro shipwreck? 

Among the six suspects there are four financiers and two coast guard soldiers:he is Giuseppe Grillo, shift leader of the operations room of the Vibo Valentia provincial command of the Guardia di Finanza and of the Roan, the air-naval operations department of the yellow flames;Alberto Lippolis, commander of the Roan of Vibo Valentia;Antonino Lopresti, officer in command and tactical control in the Roan of Vibo Valentia;Nicolino Vardaro, commander of the Taranto air-naval group;Francesca Perfido, inspection officer serving in the Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Rome;Nicola Nania, inspection officer in the secondary maritime rescue center of Reggio Calabria.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport, Matteo Salvini, expressed their unconditional support for the police, underlining their courage and daily sacrifice.

The reconstruction of events 

But according to the prosecutor's office, the six suspects were responsible for the Cutro shipwreck: according to the reconstructions in fact, shortly before dawn on Saturday 25 February 2023, therefore approximately 24 hours before the shipwreck, an Italian radio station received a request for help from a boat in difficulty in the Ionian Sea.Then on Saturday evening, a plane of Frontex, European agency responsible for patrolling the Mediterranean Sea, sights the boat and photographs it:from satellite monitoring it is possible to detect the presence of many people on board.

At that point the operation does not start Search and rescue, which would have resulted in the Coast Guard patrol boats being sent out:Two patrol boats from the Guardia di Finanza set out to help, as they were not suitable for navigation in rough seas and were in fact forced to reverse and return to port.Only at 4.30 am, exactly one day after the first alarm and following a report from a fisherman, did the Guardia di Finanza arrive on site, but were now unable to do anything other than confirm that the Cutro shipwreck had occurred.