The incident happened on 28 March 1997 in the Strait of Otranto when the Italian Navy vessel Sibilia collided with the Albanian ship Kateri i Radës which had left from the Albanian port city of Vlorë with 142 people on board.
The Sibilla sought to stop and inspect the ship suspected of containing irregular migrants.
The vessel instead ended up colliding with the ship and sinking it.
According to Italian authorities, there was no intention to cause the collision.
The Zefiro first approached and identified the Kateri i Radës as a motorboat with approximately 30 civilians on board.
The motorboat continued toward Italy even though a stop order issued by the Zefiro.
This happened around 4:30 PM, near the Albanian island Sazan.
Sibilia then took over the operation and during its maneuvers, the Italian ship caused the Kateri i Radës to turn which resulted in subsequent deaths.
After the Albanian ship was capsized, the Sibilia allegedly left and came back approximately 20 minutes later.
The bodies of at least 52 who lost their lives were recovered.
The total number of dead may be as high as 83.
The survivors were taken to the Apulian port of Brindisi, where they arrived at 2:45 AM.
They were then put on a bus, and taken to an immigration center to be identified.
On 29 and 30 March 1997, news of the disaster made it to the first page of major Italian newspapers, relating the sense of gravity of the incident, which reported it as either a collision or a ramming.
March 31 was a day of mourning in Albania.

On March 28, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1101, which established a multinational protection force in Albania  to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
The force, known as Operation Alba, was led by the Italians and included the participation of 6,500 soldiers from eight other countries.
The unspoken reason for the intervention was to stem the flow of refugees.
The incident happened on 28 March 1997 in the Strait of Otranto when the Italian Navy vessel Sibilia collided with the Albanian ship Kateri i Radës which had left from the Albanian port city of Vlorë with 142 people on board. The Sibilla sought to stop and inspect the ship suspected of containing irregular migrants. The vessel instead ended up colliding with the ship and sinking it. According to Italian authorities, there was no intention to cause the collision. The Zefiro first approached and identified the Kateri i Radës as a motorboat with approximately 30 civilians on board. The motorboat continued toward Italy even though a stop order issued by the Zefiro. This happened around 4:30 PM, near the Albanian island Sazan. Sibilia then took over the operation and during its maneuvers, the Italian ship caused the Kateri i Radës to turn which resulted in subsequent deaths. After the Albanian ship was capsized, the Sibilia allegedly left and came back approximately 20 minutes later. The bodies of at least 52 who lost their lives were recovered. The total number of dead may be as high as 83. The survivors were taken to the Apulian port of Brindisi, where they arrived at 2:45 AM. They were then put on a bus, and taken to an immigration center to be identified. On 29 and 30 March 1997, news of the disaster made it to the first page of major Italian newspapers, relating the sense of gravity of the incident, which reported it as either a collision or a ramming. March 31 was a day of mourning in Albania.
On March 28, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 1101, which established a multinational protection force in Albania  to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance. The force, known as Operation Alba, was led by the Italians and included the participation of 6,500 soldiers from eight other countries. The unspoken reason for the intervention was to stem the flow of refugees.
Tragedy of Otranto