Anguish etched on her face and held safe
by the bare-chested man who has dragged her from the sea, she seems
unable to comprehend what has happened to her.
Around her are scenes of chaos as dozens
of men battle to drag other survivors from the treacherous waves. But
not all are so lucky. A short distance away, a tiny corpse is carried to
land, his woolly hat dripping salt water.
These are the harrowing scenes on the
shores of Europe today as up to 1,000 migrants are feared dead after
three separate disasters.
On the Greek island of Rhodes, the unknown
child is one of three to have died when the boat carrying him ran
aground. The woman is one of hundreds of survivors now seeking refuge
after narrowly avoiding drowning.
Elsewhere more than 900 mainly African
migrants are believed to have perished when a 75 foot fishing boat
capsized off Libya in one of the worst maritime tragedies since the
Second World War.
Survivors claimed up to 300 people
including women and children ‘drowned like rats in cages’ after being
locked in the hold by callous traffickers. In a frantic fight for life,
they clung to their dead bodies to stay afloat.
Another two boats are thought to be in
danger off the coast of Libya with Maltese and Italian coastguards
tending to them. Twenty are already feared dead aboard one of the
vessels, both of which are carrying more than 100 people.
Scroll down for videos
Three people died after a boat carrying dozens
of migrants ran aground on the Greek holiday island of Rhodes.
Beach-goers were among the first to come to survivors’ rescue as
emergency services off the coast of Libya continued to survey the horror
of an earlier disaster
Horrendous sight: A man carries the body of a
dead child onto the Greek island of Rhodes after a wooden sailing boat
carrying dozens of people ran aground, killing at least three people in
one of a number of tragedies involving migrant vessels over the last two
days
Harrowing: Video footage shows a large, wooden
double-masted boat with people packed on board, just metres away from
the Greek island of Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Around
1,000 people are thought to have died in several migrant boat disasters
in just 24 hours
In Libya, Italian coastguards continue to survey
the horror of a capsized boat carrying an estimated 950 migrants.
Around 300 people were locked in its hull when it capsized, said
witnesses, in one what has been described as the worst maritime disaster
for decades
On dry land: A woman appears to collapse with
exhaustion in her rescuers arms after being plucked from the
Mediterranean Sea in Rhodes
Rescue: The vessel capsized after hitting rocks
off the coast, causing dozens of desperate migrants to fall in to the
choppy waters with Greeks and holidaymakers watching on in horror
Three people were killed in the accident in Greece this morning. Their deaths are among hundreds feared over the past 24 hours
In the wake of the disasters, Malta’s
Prime Minister Joseph Muscat called for the European Union to resume
rescue operations and address the chaos in Libya which allows smugglers –
who charge migrants thousands of pounds for the passage to Europe – to
operate with impunity.
The north African country is riven by a
bitter civil war where two rival governments are fighting for control.
This has been compounded by the growth of Islamic State within Libya,
which earlier this year threatened to send a wave of 500,000 migrants
towards Europe’s shores.
Mr Muscat said: ‘We have what is fast becoming a failed state on our doorsteps and criminal gangs are enjoying a heyday.’
He estimated the criminal gang behind the doomed voyage would have made between 1million and 5million euros.
He said the United Nations should mandate a
force to intervene directly in Libya to disrupt or attack traffickers
and stop the boats from setting off.
‘A time will come when Europe will be
judged harshly for its inaction as it was judged when it had turned a
blind eye to genocide,’ said Muscat, who is in Rome on Monday to meet
with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
‘I believe that the (European) focus
should be what should be done in Libya to stop the boats. Unless
something is done about Libya, these scenes will be repeating
themselves.’
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