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'Children's shipwreck': Italian maritime authorities in the dock, six years on

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Four little Syrian girls - all sisters from one family - who died in the shipwreck of October 11, 2013.
Four little Syrian girls - all sisters from one family - who died in the shipwreck of October 11, 2013. FRANCE 24
By: Natalia MENDOZA | Juliette DUBOIS | Mélina HUET | Lorenza PENSA

An unprecedented court case gets under way this Tuesday in the Italian capital Rome. Two Italian officers – one from the Italian navy and the other from the coastguard – are accused of manslaughter and of failure to assist persons in danger. On October 11, 2013, a boat carrying mostly Syrian asylum seekers sank in the Mediterranean. Among the 268 people who drowned were at least 60 children. Survivors accuse the Italian authorities of failing to provide prompt assistance, despite numerous distress calls. FRANCE 24's Natalia Mendoza and her team investigate.