By Angelo Amante
ROME (Reuters) – The shipwreck that killed at least 79 people in international waters off Greece happened in search and rescue waters under Greek responsibility, Italy’s interior minister said on Thursday.
“The event occurred, and was confined within, the Greek search and rescue area, under the specific responsibility of that country”, Minister Matteo Piantedosi told Italy’s SkyTG24 TV channel.
“But that does not mean that Greece is to blame, it is just circumscribing specific areas of responsibility,” he added.
A Greek coast guard spokesperson said the migrants on the fishing boat that capsized in international waters about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos wanted to go to Italy and had refused Greek assistance.
The Italian right-wing government, which takes a hard line against illegal immigration, in March toughened jail terms for human smugglers after a migrant shipwreck in the southern Calabria region that claimed at least 94 lives.
“This is a huge tragedy that motivates us even more on the path we have taken. We strongly believe that the most appropriate way to tackle this is to stop the human smugglers,” Piantedosi said, referring to departures from North Africa.
“We can only do it together with Europe and the international community,” he added.
(Reporting by Angelo Amante; Editing by Alvise Armellini and Frances Kerry)
