Pope slams human traffickers as death toll in Italy's migrant shipwreck climbs to 70

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Pope Francis on Sunday slammed human traffickers operating in the Mediterranean, as he expressed sorrow over last week's migrant ship disaster off southern Italy.

“May human traffickers be stopped, and may they not continue to throw away the lives of so many innocent people!” Pope Francis said during his Angelus service, according to the Vatican News Agency.

Renewing his appeal for such tragedies not to be repeated, he said: “May these voyages of hope never again turn into voyages of death.”

So far 70 people, including 16 minors, are confirmed to have died in the disaster and dozens more are missing, Italy's state-run ANSA news agency said.

Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said it was necessary to pay heed to the pope’s call to take action to stop human traffickers.

"The Holy Father's words are a big call to all the institutions," Meloni said on Facebook. "We are doing our part as the government, continuing to use all the efforts necessary to combat human traffickers and stop the deaths at sea."​​​​​​​