At Least 20 Migrants Die at Sea in Storm Off Albania

[senorpepr]

TIRANA (Reuters) - At least 20 people died when a rubber dinghy packed with some 30 illegal migrants heading to Italy was swamped by icy waters overnight in a storm off Albania, officials said on Saturday.

Most of the victims froze to death as the 12-meter long power boat ran adrift in wild seas near Sazan Island, five miles off the Albanian coast, after its engine exploded.

"The bodies were all piled up, one on top of the other," the Italian coastguard said after reaching the stricken boat.

Captain Ivano Baschieri, the commander of the Italian naval group that found the boat some 12 hours after the first distress call was received, said the bodies of 17 men and three women had been recovered. He said no children were on board, contrary to earlier reports from coastguards.

Previous reports said at least 21 people had died and the boat had capsized.

Albanian Interior Ministry spokesman Florion Serjani said the 11 survivors, including the two speedboat runners, had been taken to the Albanian port of Vlore.

He said the overloaded boat's engine had exploded, burning some of its occupants.

"We were surrounded by water but kept afloat because our feet rested on the rubber dinghy," said passenger Avni Cakaj, adding that a close friend had died in his arms.

"The speedboat was filled with water and all of us panicked. Those who had mobile phones started calling relatives and the police."

The bodies were handed over to Albanian authorities at Sazan, the base of Italian coastguards who patrol Albanian waters to stem the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs to Italy and into the European Union.

Illegal migrants trying to reach Italy in fast speedboats run by smuggling networks have often come to grief at sea. The trip across the Strait of Otranto to southern Italy would normally take about three hours.

RESCUE

The packed boat left Albania on Friday in high seas but soon ran into trouble and a rescue mission was launched by Italian, Greek and Albanian coastguards after an Albanian television station received a call for help from a mobile phone user.

Some 12 hours later the vessel was found after NATO and Albanian army vessels as well as helicopters joined the search.

The search for a second boat, referred to in phone calls to the TV station, was called off because of the worsening weather, Serjani said.

He said the migrants could not confirm the existence of a second boat, adding it might have been trying to help the damaged boat.

In August last year, Albania's Socialist-led government cracked down on the smugglers and claimed to have wiped out the trade. Very few crossings have been reported since then.

Serjani said police had arrested the two people smugglers and intended to bring charges of murder against them.

One of the smugglers was the son of the anti-terror police chief in the northern town of Shkoder who was sacked later on Saturday. The deputy director of Vlore port, a relative of the smuggler, has also been arrested.

Albanian President Alfred Moisiu and Defense Minister Pandeli Majko visited the area. The government declared Monday a national day of mourning.

(Additional reporting by Rachel Sanderson in Rome)