FIA launches crackdown against human trafficking network
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As the death toll of Italy migrant boat crash climbed up to 62, senior Pakistani embassy officials in Italy met with 16 Pakistani survivors.
Pakistani survivors said 20 Pakistanis in total were on the ship and four remained missing.
Majority of the victims are feared to be Pakistanis.
Italian administration said three more dead bodies were fished out from the sea. The boat carrying 150-200 migrants to Europe had crashed on rocks near the southern Italian coast, killing dozens.
Meanwhile, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched a probe into the network of traffickers responsible for sending Pakistani migrants abroad.
FIA said teams had been formed to investigate the matter and arrest the traffickers who had illegally sent the victims.
The agency has also started contacting heirs of the deceased, most of whom hailed from Punjab’s Gujrat district.
The foreign office said that Pakistani embassy in Italy was actively pursuing the case.
“[The] embassy is in close contact with Italian authorities to verify the status of four missing Pakistanis.”
The Italian embassy said that Pakistanis survivors were apparently in good condition.
*Italy coastguard comb beaches for bodies*
AFP adds: Italy's coastguard have searched the sea and beaches for bodies following a shipwreck off Calabria, as authorities tried to identify the dead and the government's migrant policy came under scrutiny.
The overloaded wooden boat broke up and sank early Sunday in stormy seas off Italy's southern coast, with bodies, shoes and debris washing up along a long stretch of shoreline.
