700 feared dead in migrant shipwreck

Apr 19, 2015

SEVEN hundred people are feared dead after a fishing boat packed with migrants trying to reach Europe capsized off Libya

RESCUERS at the scene of a Mediterranean shipwreck feared to have claimed 700 lives are searching for survivors amongst corpses floating in the water, Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said Sunday.

 

"They are literally trying to find people alive among the dead floating in the water. This could possibly be the biggest tragedy to have ever taken place in the Mediterranean," Muscat said at a political meeting.

 

"Children, men, and women have died."

 

A Maltese patrol boat was among 17 vessels at the scene.

 

Italy's coastguard said 28 people were known so far to have survived the overnight capsize of a packed fishing boat that was attempting to smuggle hundreds of migrants from Libya to Italy. The coastguard said 24 bodies had been recovered, an unchanged tally from several hours earlier.

 

Muscat said the tragedy was further evidence that Italy and Malta needed more support from their European partners in dealing with the migrant crisis.

 

"Although we are seeing encouraging signs from European politicians, action must be taken," he said. "There is a tragedy going on in the Mediterranean. 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."

AFP

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