JAKARTA - Pope Francis on Sunday called on authorities to stop human traffickers operating in the Mediterranean, as he expressed his sorrow over last week's migrant boat disaster off Italy's Calabria coast, in which dozens of people died.
"I repeat my call to prevent such tragedies from happening again. May human trafficking stop," the Pope said in his weekly address to the crowds in St. Peter's Square.
Local authorities say 70 bodies have been recovered so far after the incident. The ship carrying migrants is known to have departed from Turkey, carrying migrants from a number of countries including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Somalia and Syria.
"May the journey of hope never again turn into a journey of death, may the clear waters of the Mediterranean no longer be bloodied by such dramatic accidents," he hoped.
About 80 people survived after the ship broke up and sank in the open sea near Steccato di Cutro, a resort on the east coast of the Calabria region. Authorities estimate the boat was carrying up to 200 migrants.
Three suspected people-smugglers were arrested this week and prosecutors began investigating the way emergency services responded to the disaster, after accusations that authorities were slow to react.
"I pray for the many victims of the shipwreck, for their families and for those who survived," said the pope.
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Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who this week called on fellow European Union leaders to do more to stop illegal immigration, praised the pope's remarks.
The government "continues to deploy all necessary forces to fight human trafficking and stop deaths at sea," he said in a Facebook post.
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