Over 700 migrants killed as their boat overturns off Libya – EU worried about the influx of migrants

#migrantboat #Libya #Italy #EU #DonaldTusk #MareNostrum #triton In one of the worst tragedies in the Mediterranean, over 700 migrants who were traveling from war torn Libya to Europe, were killed when their 20-meter fishing boat overturned off the coast of Libya. As per reports of Italy's coastguard, only 28 people survived. One of the survivors, a Bangladeshi, who was shifted to a Sicily hospital by helicopter has put the number of casualties at 950 which included about 200 women and 50 children.
If the death toll of over 700 is confirmed, it would take the death toll since the start of 2015 to more than 1,600. This has been reported in nzherald.co.nz dated 20 April 2015.

Against this background, EU ministers are entering into crisis talks under pressure to confront the people-smuggling gangs. EU president Donald Tusk is considering holding a special summit on the crisis in Luxemburg because member states Spain, Greece, Germany and France have urged for immediate action. The Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is spearheading the calls for a summit by the end of the week.
Rights groups including Amnesty International want the restoration of an Italian navy search-and-rescue operation known as Mare Nostrum that had been suspended at the end of last year. This has been replaced by a much smaller EU-run operation called Triton because of financial constraints.
It is understandable because the influx of migrants into European countries is putting a tremendous pressure on the resources of the countries involved.

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Tragedy off Libyan coast as migrant boat capsizes, more than 400 presumed dead

#migrantboat #ItalianCoastGuard #SaveTheChildren #EuropeanUnion It was a major tragedy as a migrant boat capsized off the coast of Libya and, as per the survivors of the boat, nearly 400 persons are believed to have met a watery grave. This is what they have told the aid group Save the Children.
It has been reported also in nzherald.co.nz dated 15 April 2015.

The fears have also been expressed by Italy's Coast Guard who have said that given the size of the ship, the number of dead might increase. So far, nine bodies had been found and the coast guard helped to rescue some 144 people. They have also launched an air and sea search operation in the hope of finding others.
These unfortunate deaths would add to the toll on the numbers of migrants lost at sea. As per estimates of the International Organization of Migration, up to 3072 migrants are believed to have died in the Mediterranean in 2014 – in comparison, in 2013, the figure was around 700.
European Union is also worried and as a top migration official has remarked, EU must quickly adapt to the growing numbers of migrants trying to reach its shores. Latest figures indicate that more than 7000 migrants have been plucked from the Mediterranean in the last four days.
These deaths are due to people fleeing from trouble stricken Middle East and mostly belonging to Syria, Iraq, Somalia and neighboring countries.
However, in the opinion of the IOM those estimates could be low because, since the year 2000, more than 22,000 migrants have lost their lives in trying to reach Europe.

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