Prosecutors in Sicily are examining allegations by shipwreck survivors that a US navy ship ignored distress calls and failed to assist them before their dinghy capsized. Magistrates in Ragusa confirmed that they have examined a video in which survivors say the US cruiser was near the boat before the sinking – but appeared to ignore their request for help.
The USS Trenton rescued 42 people after the dinghy sank on 12 June but 76 drowned.
“We saw that ship, it was not far away,’’ said one of the survivors. “We saw the American flag. If they had rescued us when we were all still onboard, 76 people would not have died.”
The survivors say they tried to attract the attention of the ship’s crew for an hour. “We saw the American flag and we tried to reach them, but as we approached, they seemed to avoid us and changed direction,” said another.
The rescued migrants said that when they had asked why the Trenton had not intervened before the sinking, they were told that “it was not their job”.
The USS Trenton rescued 42 people after the dinghy sank on 12 June but 76 drowned.
“We saw that ship, it was not far away,’’ said one of the survivors. “We saw the American flag. If they had rescued us when we were all still onboard, 76 people would not have died.”
The survivors say they tried to attract the attention of the ship’s crew for an hour. “We saw the American flag and we tried to reach them, but as we approached, they seemed to avoid us and changed direction,” said another.
The rescued migrants said that when they had asked why the Trenton had not intervened before the sinking, they were told that “it was not their job”.
A reporter who was on the German charity ship Sea Watch, Fabio Butera, recorded a radio conversation between the Trenton and a Greek merchant vessel, Leone Hermes, which suggests that the Americans might have ignored another rescue request two days before from migrants drifting in an overloaded raft.
The recording makes it clear that the crew of the Leone Hermes reported the presence of a distressed raft to the US ship on 10 June. An American voice can be heard replying: “I have other tasking which I’m following … We are unable to assist in this matter.”
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