Europe ‘must do more’ for migrants

A GREEK minister has said the “great powers” of Europe need to take more responsibility for the unfolding crisis in the Mediterranean Sea.

Deputy Defence Minister, Kostas Isichos, told the BBC that northern Europe must do more to rescue and shelter migrants.

He said that Greece, Italy and Spain were working on a common position ahead of an emergency EU summit today.

Meanwhile, more than 500 rescued people were brought ashore by Italian coastguards yesterday morning.

The number of people attempting to flee war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, particularly Eritreans and Syrians, has spiked in recent months, leading to huge numbers of people drowning in unseaworthy vessels.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says there have been 30 times as many deaths so far in 2015 as in the same period last year and the figure could rise to 30,000.

Also yesterday, Italy’s parliament held a minute’s silence for Sunday’s disaster, in which more than 800 people died.