«We never saw help arrive from the sea, there was no one at sea. Only dead people.” Paolo Cefaly said this, one of the fishermen who witnessed the shipwreck of the gulet Summer Love which occurred in Steccato di Cutro on 26 February 2023. The fishermen themselves were the protagonists of the hearing of the trial on the alleged delays in the rescue of the shipwrecked boat causing 94 victims. In the proceedings, four soldiers from the Financial Police and two from the Port Authority are being investigated for manslaughter and shipwreck.
Today’s hearing focused on the eyewitness testimonies of those who first attempted to save the migrants and on the technical reports linked to the functioning of the radars and the causes of the deaths. However, three Afghan women (one survivor and two family members of victims) who were on the witness list were unable to participate because, said lawyer Enrico Calabrese, their flight from Germany was canceled due to fuel shortages caused by the US-Iran crisis.
Responding to the lawyers of the NGOs acting as civil parties, Cefaly added: «I heard a roar when the ship crashed. I felt real panic when I heard the screams, but then I thought that people had to be saved. I don’t remember the times, nor how long the rescue took. I can’t remember it, I try to forget all that history. We pulled out a lot of dead people. A lot. We never stopped.” His words were echoed by the other fisherman present on the Steccato di Cutro beach, Ivan Paone: «I can’t say how much time has passed. We were overcome by the rush to help. The visibility conditions were terrible, there was salt and strong seas. The first to arrive were the carabinieri, but I can’t say how long after the shipwreck.”