Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Survivors accused the Tunisian coast guard to have precipitated their shipwreck

Eight survivors Tunisian who had surreptitiously attempted to rally Italy February 11 accused in custody Monday, February 14 Tunisian coasts of having "deliberately dark" on their boat, leaving five dead and 30 missing persons in international waters. "The boat was brand new party in a tourist area El Ogla near Zarzis (500 km south of Tunis), and was carrying 120 passengers.

85 people were rescued, 5 died and 30 are still missing "said one of the survivors, Ben Abdaalah Ziad, aged 23. Statements confirmed by seven other Tunisians on board the ship after paying 2,000 dinars (about 1,000 euros) to smugglers. "It was 15 hours. It was beautiful. We approached the Italian coast after 12 hours on board, and we were more than about an hour from Italy when a ship of the National Guard has given us the order to stop the engines.

We obeyed, "said Ziad. "Then, he recalls, the Coast Guard boat, which was 40 meters long, was placed in a position parallel with ours before declining to 700 meters. We thought the boat turned back, but suddenly He drove at us. " "We heard the guards tell us to 'heads down', and then they rushed towards us and our boat broke in two." Ziad and his fellow prisoners were "totally shocked by what had happened," convinced that the Coast Guard were there to bring them back to Tunisia.

And then suddenly, just after the shock, the survivors said they saw an Italian helicopter just above their heads before the arrival of another Tunisian coast guard vessel in the area. "At this moment, the coast guard have pretended to want to help us. When I got to ride on their boat, one of the guards told me to return the water to save my friends," says Ziad.

The survivor has condemned the treatment meted out to the survivors "leaving them soaked on the boat, and not giving them a piece of bread" ... "Not even for everyone," added another survivor, Fares Ben Yahyaten, 21, an unemployed person. Then the army intervened and brought this group of men at the military base of Sfax, "where they offered us food and blankets but they also took our fingerprints (digital) pictures," Aziz said his side Bousetta, 26, another survivor.

At the port of Zarziz, the coast guard said that the sinking was caused by the obsolescence of the boat, refusing to give further comment. "We want to know why the vessel broke in two Tunisian this boat. We want the culprits to trial because people are dead and we want to understand why they did what they did, "said Nabil Ragdale for its part, the brother of a victim." We will go through.

Those responsible must be tried for murder, "he adds, pointing to a burial permit for his brother Lasaad, whose body was found off the coast of Sfax. Lasaad, according to his brother wanted to go to France find his wife he has not seen since 2004. "It was aboard this boat that because of the repeated refusal of the embassy to issue her a visa, he would not stay in Italy, he wanted to go to France, "laments Nabil.

Eleven of the victims and families of missing persons intend to file a complaint Tuesday against the U.S. Coast Guard vessel Liberty 302. Beyahia Ashraf, who has just buried his brother, for his part said that" there was a 14-year aboard the boat "with other survivors saying" no criminal was on board their boat.

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