Shipwreck in Greece, there are no new survivors. All updates

Twenty-four hours later, there is no news on the number of dead and survivors in the sinking of the boat carrying migrants off the coast of the Peloponnese, in Greece, sunk in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday: 78 bodies have been found and 104 people have been rescued. As evidence of the difficulty of rescue at sea, but more generally of the climate of uncertainty that persists around the tragedy: first of all on the number of migrants present on the boat, with estimates ranging from 400 to 750 people and the possibility that there are a hundred children in the hold. In fact, what complicates the rescue operations as well as the attempts to reconstruct what happened is the addition of various adverse factors: the speed with which the boat sank – in less than 15 minutes, according to some sources – and the area where the shipwreck occurred, one of the deepest in the Mediterranean.

For all these reasons, the chances of finding other survivors are currently “minimal”, retired Greek coastguard admiral Nikos Spanos told national broadcaster ERT. The only new news item so far available is the arrest of nine people of Egyptian nationality by the Greek authoritiessuspected of masterminding the illegal journey of hundreds of people from the port of Tobruk, Libya, to Italy.

The scale of the tragedy in Greece has brought immigration back to the top of the political discussion. Beyond the ascertainment of responsibilities – to the accusations by the NGO Alarm Phone towards the Greek coastguard, this responds by specifying that the ship has denied any assistance -, the management of departures and migratory flows remains a node that calls Europe as a whole into question. They also discussed this yesterday Giorgia Meloni and the Maltese counterpart, Robert Abela: “We agree on the fact that an adequate defense of the external borders is necessary”, affirmed the prime minister at the end of the summit. And yet, as to how it is possible to stop a phenomenon of this magnitude, the answers remain vague. Just as the words of the Minister of the Interior seem vague, Matteo Piantedosiwhich in an interview with the newspaper Tomorrow says that “The ultimate goal is to reduce if not stop irregular departures, distinguishing who is entitled to arrive and who is not”.

But, as mentioned, the political issue of immigration can only have – as demonstrated by yesterday’s bilateral agreement – ​​a European dimension. The European Parliament has recently given the green light to the new Pact on migration and asylum, approved also with the votes of Italy. While today, as reported by the Pressa meeting will be held in the EU Commission to define a European framework “in search and rescue cooperation in the Mediterranean”. Thus ensuring a shared process to be followed in emergency situations. And avoiding, at least in the hopes, that tragedies like the one we are witnessing in these hours can be repeated.