900 Migrants Died in the Mediterranean Sea The boat capsized shortly after midnight on Sunday.
More than 900 people are feared dead after a smuggler boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean sea - making it one of the worst maritime disaster since the end of World War II.
Rescuers recovered 24 bodies from the sea following the disaster, which took place off Libyan waters, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
One of the survivors, a man from Bangladesh, said there was 950 migrants on board including 200 women and up to 50 children, and told prosecutors about 300 migrants were trapped in the ship's hold when it sank.
The small numbers of survivors make more sense if hundreds of people were locked in the hold, because with so much weight down below, 'surely the boat would have sunk,' said Gen. Antonino Iraso, of the Italian Border Police, which has deployed boats in the operation.
This tragedy comes just days after another shipwreck in the area claimed 400 lives. It is thought both boats capsized after those on board rushed to one side to signal to passing merchant ships.
Malta's prime minister Joseph Muscat said the incident was further evidence that Italy and Malta need more support in dealing with the migrant crisis.
'A time will come when Europe will be judged harshly for its inaction as it was judged when it had turned a blind eye to genocide', he said.
'They are literally trying to find people alive among the dead floating in the water.'900 Migrants Died in the Mediterranean Sea
The boat capsized shortly after midnight on Sunday.
More than 900 people are feared dead after a smuggler boat carrying migrants capsized in the Mediterranean sea - making it one of the worst maritime disaster since the end of World War II.
Rescuers recovered 24 bodies from the sea following the disaster, which took place off Libyan waters, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa.
One of the survivors, a man from Bangladesh, said there was 950 migrants on board including 200 women and up to 50 children, and told prosecutors about 300 migrants were trapped in the ship's hold when it sank.
The small numbers of survivors make more sense if hundreds of people were locked in the hold, because with so much weight down below, 'surely the boat would have sunk,' said Gen. Antonino Iraso, of the Italian Border Police, which has deployed boats in the operation.
This tragedy comes just days after another shipwreck in the area claimed 400 lives. It is thought both boats capsized after those on board rushed to one side to signal to passing merchant ships.
Malta's prime minister Joseph Muscat said the incident was further evidence that Italy and Malta need more support in dealing with the migrant crisis.
'A time will come when Europe will be judged harshly for its inaction as it was judged when it had turned a blind eye to genocide', he said.
'They are literally trying to find people alive among the dead floating in the water.'
No comments:
Post a Comment