Italian and Maltese naval vessels have pulled 34 bodies from the Mediterranean sea where a boat packed with 250 migrants capsized off Malta near the Italian island of Lampedusa, leaving at least 50 people dead.
Officials said on Saturday they had rescued 206 people from the vessel which sank on Friday as the migrants were trying to enter Europe.
A rescue ship was dispatched to help another boat in distress, the Italian navy said.
Friday's disaster came just over a week after at least 339 people drowned when a boat sank less than a kilometre from the tiny island between Sicily and Tunisia which has become the focal point of a growing migrant crisis in southern Europe.
The victims in Friday’s accident included women and children.
Speaking about the latest disaster, Joseph Muscat, Malta's prime minister, said the Mediterranean was in danger of becoming a "cemetery" for migrants desperate to reach European shores.
Many migrant boats, often packed with people from North Africa looking for a better life in Europe, have capsized on the island of Lampedusa, spilling passengers into the deep waters.
Sunday 13 October 2013
http://mwcnews.net/news/europe/32361-sicily-boat-accident.html
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