KRG sends team to Italy to investigate migrant boat tragedy

Shafaq News / The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) announced, on Wednesday, that it has sent a special team to Italy to follow up on the tragic sinking of Kurdish migrants' boats.

KRG's Department of Foreign Relations stated, "Following the directives of the Kurdish Prime Minister, an operations room has been established with the participation of the Ministry of Interior and the Department of Foreign Relations for a detailed follow-up on the situation and the repercussions of the sinking of a boat carrying migrants from Kurdistan off the coast of Italy. A special team has been sent to communicate with official institutions and visit the accident site on the Italian coast to closely monitor the issue."

The statement continued, "We assure the families of the victims and the citizens of the Kurdistan Region that we will make every effort to investigate the fate of the victims, and we are ready for full cooperation and coordination with the concerned authorities."

On Tuesday, dozens of migrants, including Iraqi citizens from the Kurdistan Region, drowned after two boats carrying undocumented migrants sank off the Italian coast. Rescue operations are still ongoing.

According to UN agencies, 64 people are missing in the Mediterranean, and many were rescued after their shipwreck off Italy's southern coast.

Our correspondent reported that eight of the migrants were from Erbil, along with 11 from al-Sulaymaniyah, with several still unaccounted for.