More than 900 feared dead after migrants desperate to get into Europe capsized their packed fishing boat - and the UK is accused of being 'immoral' for OPPOSING rescue missions in Mediterranean.
Britain supported decision to scrap search and rescue operations in Med Survivors says 950 migrants on board and 300 locked in the ship's hold Third major shipwreck involving migrants trying to cross sea this week Italian PM calls for emergency meeting of EU leaders to discuss crisis Read more:
More than
900 people are feared
dead after a smuggler boat carrying migrants capsized in the
Mediterranean sea in the early hours of Sunday morning - making it one
of the worst maritime disaster since the end of World War II.
In
the wake of the tragedy Britain faced pressure to end its 'immoral'
opposition to rescue operations in the Mediterranean, as only 28
passengers were rescued after their overcrowded fishing boat tipped over
at night on its way from Libya to Italy.
Politicians
and charities have attacked the British government and other EU states
for supporting Italy's controversial decision to stop search and rescue
operations last year.
A child is carried by a rescue worker
after he arrives with migrants on the boat at the Sicilian harbour of
Pozzallo. A survivor said there were around 50 children on the smuggler
boat that sank on Sunday morning
A handout picture, provided by Guardia
di Finanza, shows a Infra-red camera screen shot during an operation to
rescue migrants after the shipwreck close to Sicily. It is not known
exactly how many people were on board
People are spotted clinging to the top
of the capsized boat, while others are struggling in the water. It is
feared hundreds of migrants have drowned after the vessel toppled,
sparking a huge rescue operation
More migrants arrive at Pozzallo harbour in Sicily. One of the survivors of the disaster said there were
950 people on board the smuggler boat when it sank, including 300 people
who were locked in the ship's hold
Rescuers
recovered 24 bodies from the sea following the disaster, which took
place off Libyan waters, south of the southern Italian island of
Lampedusa, shortly after midnight on Sunday.
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.
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