European official: Recent migrant boat tragedy could be the worst in the Mediterranean

European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson, stated that last week’s migrant boat tragedy off the Greek coast could be the “worst” in the Mediterranean.

She made the statement to journalists on Wednesday, following a meeting of EU and US Justice and Home Affairs Ministers in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.

At least 82 people died last Wednesday when a boat carrying nearly 700 irregular migrants capsized off the coast of the Moria peninsula. Some 104 people have since been rescued.

Surviving migrants accused the Greek coastguard of causing the boat to sink, a claim Athens denies.

Johansson reported that the incident resulted from an increase in migration from eastern Libya to Europe, explaining that since the start of the year, there has been a 600 per cent increase in migration to the European Union, especially to Italy.

She confirmed that the exact number of people on board the ship has not yet been ascertained, adding, “Looking at the ship’s wreckage, the incident could be the most severe tragedy ever witnessed in the Mediterranean.”

“This shows that we really need to do much, much more to prevent such tragedies from occurring in the Mediterranean.”

According to the civil organisation Alarm Phone, the boat had set off from Libyan Tobruk heading to Italy with approximately 700 people on board.

The UN has called for an investigation into the tragedy and why more wasn’t done to rescue the vessel when it was in trouble and the European Commission has said that the investigation should be “thorough and transparent”.

Nine Egyptians who survived have been charged with human trafficking in what is the worst tragedy in recent years.

READ: Suspected smugglers detained pending trial over migrant shipwreck off Greece