Mediterranean migrant deaths: Call for action as details of tragedy emerge

Italian Coast Guard officers prepare disembark the bodies of dead migrant off the ship Bruno Gregoretti, in Valletta's Grand Harbour. Photo / AP

With up to 950 feared dead at sea, leaders say more must be done to save lives

The light on the horizon was supposed to signal salvation. A Portuguese cargo ship, on its way to Libya, had been sent to rescue a boat full of migrants, floundering 160km south of the Italian island Lampedusa. In the dark, it changed course to aid the hundreds on board. But the well intentioned rescue did not go as planned.

On seeing the light on Sunday, the migrants surged to one side of the 20m fishing vessel. Unbalanced, it capsized. And, in what is thought to be the worst migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean, 700 lives were lost.

Some reports put the toll even higher. Italy's Ansa news agency quoted one survivor as saying there were 950 on the boat when it sank.

"They are literally trying to find people alive among the dead floating in the water," said Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta - a country that has been the first port of call for many of the 35,000 migrants who have arrived in southern Europe this year. "Children, men, and women have died."

The doomed vessel began its voyage in Egypt but picked up its passengers from Zuara on the northwest Libyan coast, according to reports.

An injured survivor from Bangladesh who was flown by helicopter to Catania, in Sicily, told police: "There were 40 to 50 children and about 200 women [on board]. When we sailed the traffickers locked the hatches to prevent people getting out."

Twenty eight people were rescued in the incident, which happened inside Libyan waters. Yesterday the search was continuing, involving 17 Italian navy and coastguard vessels, backed by the country's air force and a Maltese patrol boat. With sea temperatures of 17C, migrants could stay alive in the water for some time, said the coastguard.

An Italian coast Guard vessel during the search and rescue operation. Photo / AP

The tragedy marked a grim new record for deaths at sea, with this year's arrivals set to dwarf the figures from last year. It spurred calls for the European Union to restart comprehensive search-and-rescue operations, having ended Operation Mare Nostrum in October - a rescue mission that saved up to 100,000 lives last year. In its place the EU runs a smaller border patrol service, Operation Triton.

Last week Medecins Sans Frontiers said it was taking matters into its own hands and launching its own ship.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon appealed to world governments to share the burden of taking in refugees, while Pope Francis told tens of thousands of people in St Peter's Square that "they are men and women like us".

"I make a heartfelt appeal to the international community to react decisively and quickly to see to it that such tragedies are not repeated," Francis said.

European leaders expressed support for an emergency summit, which could be held at the end of the week. Foreign ministers were already due to gather in Luxembourg yesterday.

"Stopping this needless suffering is a huge international challenge which demands a comprehensive, co-ordinated response," said British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond.

In Spain, Mariano Rajoy, the Prime Minister, said: "Words are not enough."

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi described the people-smuggling behind the migrant crisis as a "scourge" Europe had to address. His country has born the brunt of the migrant surge, funding Mare Nostrum to the tune of 9.5 million ($13.3 million) a month, and housing thousands of migrants at transition centres on Sicily and Lampedusa, and in Calabria on the mainland.

"We are asking not to be left alone," he said.

Malta's stark warning spurs European neighbours into action

It was the leader of one of the smallest countries in Europe who spoke with the loudest voice.

As up to 950 migrants were reported to have perished in the Mediterranean, Joseph Muscat, the Prime Minister of Malta, rounded on his fellow European leaders.

"A time will come when Europe will be judged harshly for its inaction, as it was judged when it had turned a blind eye to genocide," he said.

His words appeared to resonate. Across Europe - from Spain, France, Britain, Germany and Italy - politicians demanded action. Traffickers must be stopped, they said. Libya's borders must be secured. Countries must be encouraged to become more democratic, to make fleeing a less palatable prospect.

But the waves of wretched people washing on to the shores of southern Europe cannot be easily calmed. The four-year civil war in Syria has pushed almost 4 million people from their homes. Withdrawal of Western forces from Afghanistan has left the country shaky, with many despairing of ever being able to live and work in peace. Somalia's al-Shabaab terrorists continue to wreak havoc. President Isaias Afewerki has turned Eritrea into one of the most repressive countries in Africa by introducing what is in practice unlimited compulsory military service, from which people are literally dying to escape. The political collapse of Libya has created vast lawless swathes of country, where people traffickers can operate with impunity and dispatch daily flotillas of the desperate.

The EU says it will hold an urgent meeting of foreign and interior ministers this week to seek an EU-wide solution. Proposals should encompass immediate assistance for countries hosting the thousands of migrants. And while reinstating a comprehensive search-and-rescue operation would not solve the problem, it would at least reduce the number of fatalities.

Yesterday, we heard the words. Now we need to see the action - or Europe will indeed be judged harshly.

Q&A

Why are people risking their lives to reach Europe?

Some are fleeing conflict or persecution and others are looking for a way out of poverty. They come from countries including Eritrea, Niger, Syria, Iraq and Somalia. Many claim to be Syrian to improve their chances of staying. Right now, the weather is good, so smugglers are bringing over more people willing to spend thousands of euros apiece to risk their lives on poorly maintained, overcrowded boats.

How big is the problem?
Almost 280,000 people, some refugees escaping conflict, entered the European Union illegally last year, a 138 per cent increase over 2013. The International Organisation for Migration estimates that at least 3279 died in the Mediterranean last year. The UN refugee agency predicts that some 500,000 more people will flee Syria alone this year.

How do they get to Europe?
The main route is through conflict-torn Libya, where there are no effective border controls and smugglers are operating with near impunity. They have developed a well-oiled operation of acquiring boats and sending the migrants off with a satellite phone to make a call to Italian or Maltese authorities to come to their rescue once at sea.

Who is helping save migrants in the Mediterranean?
Under international law, the nearest vessel to any emergency must try to come to the rescue. These are often civilian ships - including ferries, cargo or private vessels - or national coastguards. The EU's border agency Frontex has ships and planes in the Mediterranean but its job is to monitor Europe's borders and migration flows, not save lives.

What was Mare Nostrum and what happened to it?
Mare Nostrum was an emergency search-and-rescue effort that Italy launched after more than 360 people drowned off the southern island of Lampedusa in October 2013. The operation was politically unpopular in Italy, which has long argued that the European Union as a whole should shoulder the burden of migration. The operation saved more than 100,000 lives, in part because it operated so closely to Libya's coast. But at € 9.5 million ($13.3 million) a month, it was considered too expensive to continue in the long-term and it officially ended on October 31 last year.

What is Operation Triton?
Operation Triton was launched by Frontex in November to replace Mare Nostrum, though Italian vessels continued to comprise the bulk of ongoing sea rescues. Triton is not a search-and-rescue mission but, rather, a border management mission. It has three aircraft and six ships, supplied by EU member states, and a budget of € 2.9 million a month. The 28 EU members agree that Frontex should have a bigger budget and more equipment but no nation has come forward with new offers.

What happens to those who make it to Europe alive?
Migrants picked up at sea are supposed to be interviewed and have biometric and other data recorded as soon as they arrive. They are taken to reception centres where they can apply for asylum or some other form of legal status. Asylum can only be granted in the European country where they first land, but many refugees never register themselves in Italy, instead preferring to head immediately for train stations to travel to northern European destinations where they can apply for asylum. Some are given temporary permits allowing them to stay while their applications are processed. Some are invited to return to their countries of origin voluntarily, while others are returned forcibly.

What is Europe doing about it?
The EU's executive commission has said it will unveil its new strategic migration agenda in late May. It wants to beef up border controls, improve burden sharing, deepen contacts with countries that migrants leave or pass through on their way to Europe and find more legal ways for people to come. The EU also wants to set up immigration screening centres in Libya's neighbours: Niger, Tunisia and Egypt.
- AP