(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) A large boat carrying an estimated 700 people who sought to enter Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend. About 50 people have been rescued while hundreds are thought to have lost their lives, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Now the EU is expected to act.
EU foreign and interior ministers are due to meet in Luxembourg later on Monday to discuss the deaths of immigrants trying to cross to Europe from Africa. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she is "appalled" by the latest disaster and wants Europe to find "answers", as reported by the AFP news agency.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said ahead of the foreign ministers meeting that there was "no magic solution", according to the BBC.
"We have a political and moral duty to exercise our role. The Mediterranean is our sea and we have to act together as Europeans. It is also [in] our interest, [in that] of our credibility; the European Union was built and is built around the protection of human rights, human dignity and the life of human people - we need to be consistent in that", she said.
UK Prime Minister David Cameron said this is "a dark day for Europe", adding that "search and rescue is only one part, we need to go after traffickers, help stabilise these countries", as reported by the BBC.
The boat capsized on Saturday night, 210 km off coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa and 27 km from the Libyan coast.
Human Rights Watch stated that the EU should act immediately to prevent further deaths at sea, according to their website.
"The EU is standing by with arms crossed while hundreds die off its shores," said Judith Sunderland, deputy Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "These deaths might well have been prevented if the EU had launched a genuine search-and-rescue effort."
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