Unusable toilets, broken air conditioning, flooded cabins: 2,500 police officers who were deployed to secure the G7 summit in Apulia had to live on a dilapidated cruise ship, according to the police union COISP – while the summit participants lived in a luxurious five-star hotel.
The ship “Mykonos Magic”, which was moored in the port of Brindisi, was supposed to serve as accommodation for 2,500 police officers who had travelled to Puglia for the G7 summit. According to the police union COISP, it has since been confiscated after many complaints about unacceptable conditions on board.
The police officers are said to have been “crammed in like mice” on the ship, while the participants of the G7 summit are staying in a five-star beach hotel in the holiday resort “Borgo Egnazia”.
The sanitary facilities on the cruise ship were said to be in a catastrophic state, according to the police union. The newspaper “La Repubblica” reported that the air conditioning was broken, water was dripping from the cabin ceilings and the police officers had to queue for hours for cold food. Because of the heat and the broken air conditioning, they had to sleep with the cabin doors open.
The police officers have now been accommodated in hotels, the union announced on Wednesday. The police officers had arrived to ensure security at the three-day G7 summit starting Thursday, which German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden are also expected to attend.