Rome, Italy: Six members of Italy's police and coastguard went on trial Friday, accused of failing to intervene in a 2023 shipwreck that killed at least 94 migrants.
The disaster off the southern Calabrian coast was Italy's worst in a decade, and set off a firestorm of criticism against Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's tough stance on the thousands of migrants who arrive by boat each year from North Africa.
Thirty-five children were among those killed when the boat crashed on the rocks off the coast of the tourist town of Cutro on February 26, 2023.
All defendants -- four officers from the Guardia di Finanza (GDF) financial crimes police, which patrol Italy's seas, and two members of the coastguard -- attended the opening of trial in the courtroom of nearby Crotone, local media reported.
They are accused of involuntary manslaughter and "culpable shipwreck", a crime in the Italian penal code punishing negligent actions or omissions leading to a shipwreck.
