Tears as Italy buries 26 Nigerian women who drowned in the Mediterranean

Italy’s southern city of Salerno was gloomy on Friday as a mass funeral was held for 26 young women from Nigeria who drowned earlier this month trying to cross the Mediterranean.

Twenty-six coffins were laid out in Salerno’s Monumental Cemetery on Friday morning, watched by a military guard, local politicians, rescue workers and journalists, TheLocal.it reported.

A Catholic archbishop and a Muslim imam both said prayers.

Each coffin bore a white rose on top, though only two were marked with names: Marian Shaka and Osato Osaro.

The bodies will be buried in different cemeteries around Salerno.

The city’s mayor declared Friday a day of mourning. Local schools have been asked to hold a minute of silence, while light displays in the city center will be switched off on Friday evening in remembrance.

The girls’ bodies were recovered at sea and brought to Italy on November 3rd.

Post-mortem examinations revealed that 25 of the victims had drowned, while one had a wound to her side.

All of the girls are believed to have been Nigerian nationals between 14 and 30 years old. Five have been identified so far.

Two of the 26 Nigerian women were pregnant, including Osaro with twins. Her coffin bore a pink and a blue rose in their memory.

At least 100 other people believed to have been travelling with the women are still missing, all feared drowned.

A Spanish military ship rescued around 400 survivors, as well as the 26 bodies, in the Strait of Sicily in early November. They were attempting to make the crossing between Libya and Italy when the rubber boats carrying them capsized.

Nigeria has called for an international investigation into the incident.