Probably it was not fit to have all these people on board.
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The boat was on its way to Italy, the news agency MENA reported, attributing the information to the military. He identified the skipper of the fishing boat as Mohammed Abu Hamid.
Mina Fawzi, 19, one of the survivors, said yesterday that there were already about 250 people on the boat when the smugglers brought along another 250.
Ali Abdel Sattar said that Egyptians, Eritreans, Sudanese and Syrians were on board the vessel, which had been bound for Italy.
“Families know that they will not be sent back”, leading boys as young as 12 to make the trip, Di Giacomo said.
A prosecution official said they would be treated like “victims and not perpetrators” and would be released. “Those are dead, for sure”.
Some experts assume that up to 10,000 migrants may die till the end of the year on their journey to Europe.
Authorities also issued arrest warrants for five more people wanted in connection with the tragedy, according to the officials.
Prosecutors ordered the crew members jailed for four days while an investigation takes place.
Judicial and security officials said four alleged smugglers had been detained, and accused of involuntary manslaughter and human trafficking.
Thousands of refugees, mostly feeling war and poverty, have tried to cross the Mediterranean over the past couple of years in hope of a better life in Europe. Local official Alaa Osman from Beheira province said the migrants were from several African countries; mainly Egypt and Syria.
More than 300,000 migrants have crossed the Mediterranean so far this year from various points of departure, the United Nations said this week.
According to BBC online, the boat was being held off the coast while increasing numbers of migrants were being brought to it.
“There is no way to end this except by uprooting its causes; and this will be by reaching political agreements, not by closing borders”, he said.
Europe is facing an unprecedented influx of refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict-ridden zones in North Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria.
“The wooden boat was overcapacity”, Egyptian Mahmoud Aly told CNN, explaining that his 24-year-old brother, who was also onboard, is still missing.
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“But we haven’t seen this before”, he said of the number of bodies from the latest incident.
