Wednesday 22 April 2015

'Captain's Error' Sank Overloaded Migrant Boat

The shipwreck that killed at least 800 migrants off the Libyan coast was caused by a mistake the captain made piloting the overcrowded vessel, Italian investigators have said.

The captain and another crew member were arrested by Italian police after a group of 27 survivors from the tragedy arrived in the Sicilian port of Catania on Monday evening. 
The skipper, Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek, has been charged with people trafficking and reckless multiple homicide in relation to the disaster.
It was caused by Malek ramming his boat by mistake into a cargo rescue ship and then migrants moving around the unbalanced vessel which capsized, said prosecutors.

The number of migrants who have died making the Mediterranean crossing to Europe so far this year is around 1,750 - some 30 times higher than for the same period in 2014, said the International Organisation for Migration.
There are fears that last year's death toll of 3,279 may be passed in a matter of weeks, and could well top 30,000 by the end of the year.

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