Spotlight on ruthless smugglers, rescue failures after Italy migrant disaster

FILE PHOTO: Debris from the ship is found in the aftermath of a deadly migrant shipwreck in Steccato di Cutro near Crotone, Italy, February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo

STECCATO DI CUTRO, Italy (Reuters) - Five days after leaving Turkey, migrants crammed in darkness aboard a wooden sailboat pleaded with their traffickers to radio for help as they rocked in increasingly stormy seas off Italy.

The people smugglers reassured them they were safe, holding up an iPad to show how close they were to the shore and saying they wanted to land on the southern toe of Italy in the dead of night to avoid police patrols and certain arrest.