Pope Francis calls for arrest of human traffickers

The recent tragedy in the Ionian Sea near Crotone, on a boat carrying illegal immigrants to the European coast, continued to add deaths and reached more than 70 in the last hours. At Sunday’s Mass, Pope Francis lamented the deaths and called for an end to human trafficking. I renew my appeal to prevent these tragedies from happening again. Let the traffickers of human beings be arrested”, the Supreme Pontiff began in front of St. Peter’s Square.In addition, the Pope referred to the complicated situation that gives rise to these tragic accidents and asked that “journeys of hope never again become journeys of death, that the crystalline waters of the Mediterranean may not be bloodied by such dramatic accidents”. The boat, which is intended to leave Turkey days earlier, was carrying more than 180 people, including minors and adults. At approximately five o’clock in the morning of Sunday, February 26, it sank off the coast of Crotone, and as a result of the new laws, the Italian authorities did not allow the intervention of rescue NGOs. From the actions of the Italian coast guard and lifeguards from the Calabrian coast, 81 people could be rescued alive. So far, they found more than 70 dead in a figure that has not stopped climbing in recent days.

Original source in Spanish