Update: The European Commission has said in a statement today that it is deeply distressed by the tragic developments in the Mediterranean today, as well as over the past days and weeks.

It is feared that over 600 migrants have died after their boat capsized on its way from Libya. The incident happened around 120 miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.

The boat was carrying around 700 migrants when it capsized in the Mediterranean late last night. It is being reported that so far only around 50 survivors have been rescued from the water.

The Italian Coastguards contacted the AFM last night for assistance and a Patrol boat was helping in the rescue, along with other foreign merchant vessels that were in the area.

The Prime Minister Dr Joseph Muscat has said that Malta will do whatever it can to help.

On Sunday evening the Prime Minister said that he is to hold urgent talks with the Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday.

The Italian Prime Minister, at a press conference today, advised that only 28 survivors had been picked up so far and 24 bodies had been picked up.

An Italian vessel will be coming to Malta bringing the survivors and corpses, the corpses will be brought ashore, and the vessel will then continue with the survivors to Italian shores, the Home Affairs Minister Carmelo Abela said today.

The European Commission said that, “the reality is stark and our actions must therefore be bold. These are human lives at stake, and the European Union as a whole has a moral and humanitarian obligation to act,” the EC said.

The European Commission is currently consulting with Member States, European agencies and international organisations in order to prepare a new European Migration Strategy, which will be adopted by the Commission in mid-May.

The EC stated “what we need is immediate actions to prevent further loss of life as well as a comprehensive approach to managing migration better in all its aspects.”

“The only way to truly change the reality is to address the situation at its roots. For as long as there is war and hardship in our neighbourhood near and far, people will continue to seek a safe haven on European shores. And as long as countries of origin and transit do not take action to prevent these desperate trips, people will continue to put their lives at risk.”

The EC added, “that is why a large part of the approach we are working on is going to be about working with third countries.”

A joint meeting of the foreign and interior ministers will be organised to this end. This is a joint responsibility of all 28 EU Member States and the EU institutions and requires a joint European response, said the Commission.

President Juncker has charged First Vice-President Frans Timmermans, High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini and Dimitris Avramopoulos, his Migration Commissioner, to work very closely together on all these aspects in preparation of the new European Migration Agenda and in the “swift and effective implementation of all EU instruments which already exist at this stage.”

The Pope, speaking on Sunday morning after the Regina Coeli prayer in St. Peter’s Square, appealed to the international community to take swift and decisive action to avoid more tragedies of migrants seeking a better life.

“They are men and women like us, our brothers seeking a better life, starving, persecuted, wounded, exploited, victims of war. They were looking for a better life, Pope Francis told the tens of thousands in the crowd.

“I make a heartfelt appeal to the international community to react decisively and quickly to see to it that such tragedies are not repeated,” the Pope said, before asking the crowd to pray “for these brothers and sisters.”

File photograph AFM

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