People stand next to coffins of victims in a hanger of Lampedusa airport on October 5, 2013 after a boat with migrants sank, killing more than 300 people.
Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat says European waters near Africa are changing into a cemetery.
œRight now politicians are thinking about tightening or loosening migration rules. In our case our main concern is these people at sea,” Muscat said on Friday.
œAs things stand we are building a cemetery within our Mediterranean Sea.”
According to the premier, at least 27 migrants died after the boat turned over on Friday about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Lampedusa and 110 kilometers (68 miles) from Malta. Italy and Malta both launched a rescue operation.
Italian news agency Ansa said around 50 bodies, including women and children, were pulled from the waters.
Also on Friday, a boat accident near the northern coast of Egypt left at least 12 migrants dead.
The deadly incidents on Friday came after a boat carrying some 500 migrants sank off Lampedusa on October 3. More than 300 people died in the tragedy.
Muscat also complained that œfrom the European side we have heard only talk, empty talk really.”
œWe feel abandoned by Europe. I don’t know how many more people need to die at sea before something gets done. We will make sure our voice is heard during the next European Council. Rules need to change, whether they are tighter or looser is not the issue, the fact is that this thing is broken and it needs to be fixed,” the Maltese prime minister said.
The recent deaths prompted calls for the European Union to intensify its patrols of the southern Mediterranean Sea in an attempt to prevent future tragedies.
The President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso together with Italy™s Prime Minister Enrico Letta visited Lampedusa on October 9, where Barroso was jeered by local residents who blamed EU and Italian politicians for the fatal incident.
MR/HN
Copyright: Press TV