Norman Atlantic, controversy over relief: “Why helicopters … – The Messenger

Norman Atlantic, controversy over relief: "Why helicopters … – The Messenger

from our correspondent Mauro Evangelisti
BRINDISI – On the boat spoke with family members, by phone screamed that you were saved, they were fine. Yet, no one has come to rescue them, to recover them. Time passed, and while in Italy on Sunday morning it was still in the process of thinking about how to help the Norman Atlantic that was on fire, the three truckers Neapolitan Balsano Carmine, John and Michele Rinaldi Riccardo saw that the time passed, the waves rose nobody came to save them. After four hours, when relatives have tried again to call them, the signal was gone. The three Neapolitans were dead.

Here, in the days of the catwalk, showcases, pride artifact, waiting in vain enough to think of a help of the three truck drivers Neapolitans on board to realize that perhaps the mechanism of emergency and relief was not so perfect. Yesterday, at eleven victims hell of Norman Atlantic were added to the deaths of two Albanian sailors aboar d a tugboat engaged in rescue operations, affected by a rope.

“But why the helicopters of the Navy are arrived so late, because he lost so much time? “ask many of the survivors, who were trapped for several hours in the ferry that was on fire. To complete the picture of this tragedy then numbers. To date, as confirmed by the chief prosecutor of Bari, Bari Joseph, not even know how many were actually passengers (and not just because of the presence of illegal immigrants), hypothesized, however, that they were 499, many more of the 478 that have been spoke at first. Have not yet been traced 179 of them, perhaps climbed on two merchant who first lent relief and then I went to Greece.

But the risk that the final budget of the missing and therefore the dead is much higher. There are eighty people retrieved that did not appear in the list of passengers. And here we come to the most important question: the budget of eleven dead, with the unknown of forty dispersed, authorize really define a successful rescue operations?

The bad weather has slowed operations or instead won the chaos, the misunderstandings between Italy and Greece, the decisions made too slowly? The words of Mary, the wife of Carmine Balzano, one of the three truck drivers died on the boat, are very hard: “The State has sent the bailouts, but at eight o’clock in the morning, while the ship is on fire at three am. The State and Renzi sent relief to say that they did something good and great always the same scenes, for three days. “

We share the dawn of Sunday, when the garage ferry develops a fire. We are 20 kilometers from the Albanian coast. On the ferry there is the escape of passengers to the top of the vessel. Few can climb on the boat and, like the three Neapolitan, hope in the arrival of aid. More even, as the greek Georgius Doulis, remain stuck in chutes leading up to the lifeboats and instead condemn them to death by hypothermia.

Only when it is day, around 8, come the first merchant in the area giving help, the first rescue ships of the Italian Navy and some boats Albanians. Are 9:26 when the Ansa informs: “Two tugboats carrying teams of firefighters have left this morning at a distance of a few hours of each other for rescue to ferry Norman Atlantic on fire off the Vlore . On the spot has also directed a patrol boat of the Harbour, while another patrol boat of the fire game this morning is due to return to port due to adverse sea conditions. In the area where is located the ferry is also directed a helicopter of the Navy took off from Grottaglie. ” Than when the alarm occurred had already spent at least four to five hours.

True, the weather conditions were terrible (50 knots of wind and sea force 7-8) but because it’s spent so much time ? What role did the passage of the guide operations between Greece and Italy? At 12.33, the Ministry of Defense does know: “Rescue operations for the ferry Norman Atlantic are driven from Italy. In addition to the means already in the area (2 aircraft Greeks, Greek unit of the Coast Guard, three patrol boats of the harbor master Italian with two helicopters, an air force helicopter and two motor vessels) have been hijacked the motorboat Cruise Europe (swing Italian flag), the Evinos (Greek flag, identified for the recovery of your aircraft. The Navy has also in preparation 3 additional helicopters will be transferred from Catania to Grottaglie. “The problem is that they are already spent eight hours by the alarm. Other ten hours later, at 18:56, a passenger can talk to a Greek TV and desperate explains: “We will die like rats, because they are employing a long time to come and save us?”.

Again, the ship San Giorgio appears in the disaster area only in the evening, when you finally get up from the bridge helicopters. He could be quicker this deployment of assets or, as repeated ad nauseam the survivors, “the helicopters had to get there before.” It must be said that the priority was to put out the fire.

Then there are the questions that come from Greece because Italy did not accept our help? It is useful to re-read the statements of the other day, issued by the defense minister, Nikos Dendias, to Skai TV Greece: “We had the means and resources available, Italy has only accepted Monday the support of another Super Puma helicopter took off from the base of Corfu. Yet those means have a capacity of three times higher than Italian, but the Italian authorities had the management of the operations and only depended on their every move. The Italian authorities are inclined to work with their own resources, but Rome could have handled more broadly this rescue operation multinational. ”