In the early morning hours of February 26, 2023, the Summer Love shipwrecked off the coast of Calabria, Italy. At least 94 people, including 35 children, died in what is known as the Cutro shipwreck. According to survivors, the boat was carrying up to 250 people, most from Afghanistan, Syria, and Pakistan.
The anniversary comes after the deadliest January in the Mediterranean Sea in over a decade. The International Organization for Migration estimates that at least 454 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean in January alone, nearly one-third of the 1,340 estimate for all of 2025.
In recent days, 15 corpses have washed up on the shores of Calabria and Sicily, presumed victims of the devastating Cyclone Harry in mid-January that likely claimed hundreds if not a thousand lives at sea.
January also saw the beginning of the trial of two Italian Coast Guard officers and four Customs Police (Guardia di Finanza) officers, all of whom were accused of negligence leading to a shipwreck and multiple counts of manslaughter for the Cutro shipwreck, a rare opportunity for accountability. Survivors and families of the victims deserve to see justice done.
According to the UN, at least 34,129 people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea since 2014. The EU’s deadly border policies, combined with Italy and other EU countries’ failure to respond appropriately to migrant boats in distress—as allegedly was the case in the Cutro shipwreck, the June 2023 shipwreck near Pylos, Greece, and the recent boat disaster near Chios, Greece—have contributed to this staggering death toll.
The EU has abdicated its responsibilities for search and rescue at sea while simultaneously deputizing countries with abusive policies like Libya and Tunisia. EU governments criminalize nongovernmental rescue groups and violently push people back at EU borders.
We can only guess the actual number of people who have died in the Mediterranean. Even the lowest estimates reveal the unconscionable record of the EU’s failures.
At a time when the rights-based international order is under threat and xenophobia seems all too common, it can feel quixotic to call for humane and rational migration policies. But they are possible and they start with saving lives.
