TIRANA, Albania — Twenty-one persons died when an inflatable speedboat packed with Albanian migrants trying to sneak into Italy sank in up to 20-foot high waves and strong winds off Albania’s coast, officials said yesterday.
Eleven others survived after the boat sank off the Karaburun Peninsula near Vlora, 85 miles southwest of Tirana. Two persons were listed in serious condition, police spokesman Floriani Serjani said in a prepared statement.
Police arrested two of the survivors believed to be migrant smugglers. Two high-ranking Albanian police officers who are related to one of the suspects also were suspended while authorities investigate whether they were involved.
Survivor Gentian Kurtmetaj, in his 20s, said the passengers in the 43-foot-long boat had paid about $2,300 each for the journey across the Adriatic Sea, which normally takes 3 to 3 hours. The average monthly salary in Albania is $200.
“We were promised jobs in Brindisi [in Italy],” he told reporters. “It was very cold, and the victims froze to death.”
Most of the passengers were from the northern districts of Shkodra and Malesi e Madhe, among Albania’s poorest areas. Three women and 18 men were among the dead, said Lt. Col. Antonio Passaro, a spokesman for NATO in Albania.
Fran Prenga, who lost his wife and younger brother, said he and his family decided to risk the trip after the Italian government refused to renew their visas so they could return to their agriculture jobs.
Albanian police monitoring the sea with radar Friday evening spotted the boat and called Italian and NATO authorities for help, knowing the inflatable craft could not withstand the rough weather.
Albanian police arrested Albert Alliu and Artur Rrokaj, both Vlora residents, believed to have organized the illegal odyssey.
Mr. Rrokaj’s father is the chief of the antiterrorism office in the northern town of Shkodra, and a close relative is the Vlora traffic police chief. They were both suspended while the prosecutor’s office investigates whether they were involved, Mr. Serjani said.
Speedboats are a popular mode of transport for Albanians trying to sneak into Western Europe to escape their country’s poverty. The Albanian government claimed in August 2002 that its efforts to stop the illegal speedboat traffic to Italy had been successful after a crackdown on smuggling networks.
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