As we're getting wall-to-wall media coverage of a "superyacht" sinking off Sicily, with full collaboration of Italian authorities, I'd like to recount a recent sinking, with a much larger death toll, showing the gap in value of the life of a tech billionaire & that of "Corpse n° 47" [Thread] >> 1 - ThreadSky

nickwhithorn.bsky.social • 186 days ago

As we're getting wall-to-wall media coverage of a "superyacht" sinking off Sicily, with full collaboration of Italian authorities, I'd like to recount a recent sinking, with a much larger death toll, showing the gap in value of the life of a tech billionaire & that of "Corpse n° 47" [Thread] >> 1

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dburx.bsky.social•186 days ago

Nice thread.
Today, me, fed up with the office BBC screens endlessly on the yacht sinking, " I know I'll read something serious, where's the FT". And sigh....

marypcbuk.bsky.social•185 days ago

Gentle nudge: this is a really important thread, could you include alt text so it's accessible, it will get much better reach with that

kateedmonds.bsky.social•186 days ago

Quite. White people drowning clearly is more newsworthy 😢

kitb.bsky.social•185 days ago

And, in particular, white people with the wherewithal to hold anyone involved to account. 😕

samokorosec.bsky.social•185 days ago

Yeah, I wonder when news will get out that Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash.

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

In the late evening of 16 June a French yacht in the Ionian Sea, about 120 miles SE of the Italian Coast, encounters a semi-sunken sailing boat (photo) that left Bodrum in Turkey a few days earlier. The yacht recovers 12 survivors & alerts Italian authorities >> 2

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

Initially, the survivors are transferred to a Portuguese cargo ship and then to an Italian Coast Guard vessel. The survivors land in Roccella Ionica on the morning of 17 June. One dies shortly after landing. They recount that 76 people were aboard, including 26 children >> 3

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

Over the following days search & rescue operations are carried out using Italian Coast Guard vessels, as well as Coast Guard & Frontex aircraft. While the aircraft can be traced, almost all the Coast Guard vessels have their transponders switched off throughout operations >> 4

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

This is common practice. Rescues carried out by the Coast Guard are usually more difficult & involve larger numbers of people than those performed by NGOs but receive less media attention as Meloni's government feeds the narrative that NGOs are responsible for most migrant arrivals>> 5

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

As bodies are found & recovered, they are transported to Italy but not all to the same port. Some are taken to Roccella Ionica, some to Reggio Calabria, others to Gioia Tauro. None of these arrivals are announced (& the vessels cannot be traced, of course) and all take place at night >> 6

nickwhithorn.bsky.social•186 days ago

There are occasional press releases (often contradictory) in the first couple of days, then silence from the authorities. Any news gathered is from local journalists who are not allowed anywhere near the quayside, thus there are no inconvenient images of bodies being carried ashore >> 7

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