PREPARE TO RISK DEATH FOR EURO LIFE
Drowning toll rises
MORE than six million asylum seekers are waiting to head into Europe this summer.
They are staying in countries around the Mediterranean and include 2.5m from war-torn North Africa, according to a confidential German report.
But it contradicts claims from Brussels that the situation is “under control”.
Yesterday at least 34 migrants, most of them toddlers, drowned in the Mediterranean.
Italian Coastguard commander Cosimo Nicastro said one of a group of boats listed suddenly, sending about 200 people tumbling into the sea off Libya.
Rescue group MOAS cofounder Chris Catrambone said: “At least 20 dead bodies were spotted in the water. Most are toddlers.”
The German report, which is yet to be verified, warns the number waiting to cross into Europe has risen by 650,000 since the end of January.
One million are living in Libya, it says, while about 3.3m are in Turkey.
Of these, nearly 3m are Syrians, including more than 1.3m children, while the other 310,000 are mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan.
The number waiting in Turkey has remained relatively stable for 18 months, but continues to put a strain on the country.
EU leaders struck a controversial deal with Turkey which bolstered the country’s coastguard and set up migrant camps.
German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly plans to request similar deals with North African countries ahead of September’s election.
During yesterday’s tragedy coastguard boats and other vessels battled to save up to 1,700 people packed into about 15 boats.