Mediterranean ‘a cemetery’ as another capsize kills 31

October 12, 2013 08:34 am | Updated May 28, 2016 03:35 am IST - VALLETTA (MALTA)

For the second time in a week, a smugglers’ boat overloaded with migrants capsized in the Canal of Sicily on Friday as it made the perilous crossing from Africa to Europe. At least 31 people drowned, but 221 people were rescued in a joint Italian-Maltese operation, officials said.

Prevention

European Union (EU) has been asked to do more to better patrol the southern Mediterranean and prevent such tragedies.“We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a cemetery,” Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, who reported recovery of 27 bodies, told a news conference on Friday in Valletta, the Maltese capital. The incident had occurred in Italian waters where Malta has search and rescue responsibilities.

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