400 migrants killed as boat from Libya flips
AT LEAST 400 migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya were killed after their boat capsized, i t was revealed last night.
It was also claimed the body of one migrant, who died on another boat making the perilous trip from North Africa to Italy, was tossed overboard by a people trafficker to sharks.
The stories emerged after more than 8,000 migrants took advantage of calm weather to cross t he Mediterranean over t he past weekend.
Charity Save the Children said the capsized boat, carrying about 550 people, flipped over around 24 hours after leaving the Libyan coast. About 150 survivors were rescued and brought to an Italian port on Monday.
Before the weekend, more than 500 migrants had died crossing the Mediterranean so far this year.
This is a sharp rise from only 47 in the same period of 2014, said the Geneva- based I nternational Organisation for Migration.
More than 170,000 migrants arrived in Italy last year after being packed on to boats by people smugglers.
Yesterday, it was alleged that a trafficker on one boat threw a migrant overboard after he died from asphyxiation in the hold of the vessel.
Witnesses said his body was attacked by sharks who had been following the boat. The suspected people smuggler, from Guinea, was arrested in Sicily after being rescued along with his 110 passengers, and it i s thought he will face manslaughter charges.
The number of migrant boats trying to reach the EU from Africa has risen as fine weather makes the route safer. The total rescued since Friday has reached 8,480 from more than 40 boats. Italian coastguards, navy ships and merchant vessels delivered migrants rescued from the boats to Italian ports throughout yesterday.
A pregnant woman on board one Italian navy ship died during the journey to shore. Another pregnant migrant from Eritrea gave birth.
Meanwhile, the EU’s Frontex border agency said traffickers trying to recover a boat had fired shots into the air to warn away coastguards, sparking concerns for the safety of rescue workers and migrants.
Humanitarian groups have called for the EU to bolster its rescue operations.
Italy, which handles the largest number of migrant arrivals in the EU, has become i ncreasingly alarmed about the breakdown of law and order in Libya.
Dimitris Avramopoulos, EU commissioner for migration, said Europe must adapt to deal with the rise in migrants.
‘The unprecedented influx of migrants at our borders, and in particular refugees, is unfortunately the new norm,’ he said.
More than 280,000 people entered the EU illegally last year. Many came from Syria, Eritrea and Somalia to Libya, then made the perilous sea journey to Italy.