ROME (Sputnik) – Eight people allegedly involved in the illegal transportation of migrants to Italy were arrested on Tuesday by Italian police and the Financial Guard law enforcement agency in the town of Catania in Sicily, the Rai News 24 channel reported.
On Saturday, a boat was discovered in the Mediterranean carrying the bodies of 49 undocumented migrants who had suffocated in the sealed hold, presumably from inhaling fuel fumes, as reported by the local media.
A total of 313 people on the boat were rescued by an Italian Navy patrol ship. Survivors of the tragedy, as well as the 49 bodies of the dead, were brought ashore to the Sicilian port of Catania on Monday.
Three Moroccans, four Libyans and a Syrian national are said to have been arrested for operating the boat. The channel stated that those in charge were identified with the help of testimonies given by survivors of the tragedy.
