Migrant boat was 'deliberately sunk' in Mediterranean sea, killing 500

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

About 500 migrants are feared to have drowned after the boat carrying them from Egypt to Malta was apparently deliberately sunk by people-traffickers , an intergovernmental group has said.

The news – based on the accounts of two Palestinian survivors – emerged on the same day up to 200 more people were feared dead when another boat heading to Europe capsized off Libya.

The Geneva-based International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said there was no independent verification for what happened, mainly because only nine people are believed to have survived. The IOM's account comes from the two Palestinians, who were rescued by another boat and taken to Sicily.

If it is correct then, by the IOM's tally, around 2,900 migrants have died this year so far in the Mediterranean while attempting to reach Africa, against 700 for all of 2013.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/15/migrant-boat-capsizes-egypt-malta-traffickers

---

(note: this is a separate story from http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014896233 - while this apparently happened around Sept 6th, it has only just come to light)

[krispos42]

1. That's heartless beyond belief

Complete psychopaths. Complete.

[riderinthestorm]

2. No words

What a horror.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Beyond understanding. Glad at least two survived to tell what happened. n/t

[Gore1FL]

4. The motive seems odd.

It seems strange for the traffickers to destroy a source of their income to kill powerless people. There must be more to the story.

[FLPanhandle]

5. I'm sure they collected their fees before they boarded.

At that point they were expendable.

[Gore1FL]

6. The immediate payments were made, to be sure.

but all future revenues are at the bottom of the sea.

[Feral Child]

7. Probably a freighter.

Just guessing, but their manifest probably didn't read "illegal immigrants". Maybe they stored the cargo listed on the manifest, insured the boat and "cargo", then scuttled the boat and the actual cargo.

Again, nothing to base this on but it's the only sensible (but horribly cruel) explanation.