One Year After the Cutro Shipwreck: Pain and Remembrance

February 26, 2024 - A year ago, a tragedy unfolded off the coast of Steccato di Cutro, Calabria. A boat carrying migrants, which had departed from Turkey, broke in two just a few meters from the shore, causing the deaths of 81 people, including 22 children.

The first hours after the shipwreck

In the night between February 25 and 26, 2023, the noise of the disaster and the screams of the shipwrecked people woke up the residents of the area. The first aid was provided by some fishermen who were at sea and by the Carabinieri, alerted by the harrowing screams.

A dramatic toll

At dawn, the death toll was immediately dramatic: dozens of lifeless bodies lay on the beach, covered in white sheets. The search for the missing continued for days, with the sea returning the bodies of men, women, and children, one by one.

A year of pain and demands for justice

A year later, the pain of the Cutro tragedy is still alive. The families of the victims are asking for justice and truth, while the authorities continue to investigate the causes of the shipwreck.

A warning for Europe

The Cutro tragedy is a warning for Europe: we can no longer turn a blind eye to deaths at sea. Concrete efforts are needed to save lives and guarantee the right to asylum for those fleeing war, persecution, and poverty.

Remembering the victims

In Steccato di Cutro, a garden with 94 trees has been inaugurated to commemorate the victims of the shipwreck. A place of memory and hope, so that such tragedies will never happen again.

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