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SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Objects such as maps, flags, compasses and personal belongings of migrants recovered from smugglers' boats are stored here in a deposit of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.

The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck

On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.

Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.

Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.

Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.

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SIRACUSA, ITALY - 22 SEPTEMBER 2016: Objects such as maps, flags, compasses and personal belongings of migrants recovered from smugglers' boats are stored here in a deposit of the Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C., by its Italian acronym) in the Court House of Siracusa, Italy, on September 22nd 2016.<br /> <br /> The Interagency Task Force for Combating Illegal Migration (or G.I.C.I.C.) assigned policeman Angelo Milazzo the identification of 24 victims of the August 24th 2014 shipwreck<br /> <br /> On August 24th 2014, a boat carrying more than 400 migrants, departed from the coasts of Libya in the attempt to reach Italy, capsized in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea. Rescuers of the Italian Navy saved 352 people, and recovered 24 lifeless bodies.<br /> <br /> Following the events of the Arab Spring in 2011, including Gaddafi’s death and Libya’s plunge towards chaos, clandestine crossings skyrocketed, as did the number of people drowning. In 2014 over 170,000 arrived in Italy and since then more than 10,000 perished in the Mediterranean sea.<br /> <br /> Only a fraction of these bodies have ever been recovered, and, of the ones that have, the majority remain unidentified. In Sicily alone there are more than 1,500 graves of anonymous refugees and migrants–people from Syria and other war torn countries–who have drowned in shipwrecks at sea.<br /> <br /> Despite the decades long persistence of the problem, Italy has yet to develop a comprehensive approach to handling the bodies of shipwreck victims. Many pieces of a functional body identification system are in place, but its overall effectiveness is crippled by a lack of coordination between the various local agencies involved and national authorities.