people-smuggling. Reactions Domestic Prime minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her "deep sorrow for the many human lives torn away by human traffickers", and condemned the "exchange" of migrants' lives for "the 'price' of a ticket paid by them in the false prospect for a safe voyage". Interior minister Matteo Piantedosi stressed the importance of stopping sea crossings that offer migrants the "illusory mirage of a better life" in Europe. Antonio Ceraso, the mayor of Cutro, said that he saw "a spectacle that you would never want to see in your life ... stays with you for all your life". International Pope Francis said that he was "praying for everyone caught up in the shipwreck" in his Sunday address at St. Peter's Square. Shehbaz Sharif, the Pakistani Prime Minister, stated that more than two dozen Pakistani nationals were on the boat when it sunk. Sharif said that the reports were "concerning and worrisome". See also List of migrant vessel incidents on the Mediterranean Sea References 2023 disasters in Italy 2023 in international relations 21st century in Calabria Disasters in Calabria February 2023 events in Italy Maritime incidents in 2023 Maritime incidents in Italy Migrant boat disasters in the Mediterranean Sea Province of Crotone