Italy arrests two shipwreck survivors suspected of human trafficking

Sicilian authorities have arrested the captain and the first mate of a boat that capsized off Libya on Sunday, killing around 800 migrants.

The captain and a crew member of a boat that capsized off Libya on Sunday, killing around 800 migrants, have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

The two suspects were among 27 survivors of the shipwreck who arrived in Sicily late on Monday on a coastguard vessel.

Italian Infrastructure Minister Graziano Delrio said that Catania’s prosecutor, Giovanni Salvi, had ordered the arrests of the two men. Italian officials said that the pair were the Tunisian captain of the migrant boat and his Syrian first mate.

"Prosecutor Salvi has made two arrests this evening of persons involved; that shows Italian justice is working," Mr Delrio told journalists in Catania, adding that a homicide investigation has been opened into the tragedy.

Salvi said that hundreds of migrant passengers had been locked in the hip’s hold, while hundreds more were crammed on to its upper deck.

The boat reportedly capsized after an attempted rescue by a Portuguese merchant ship caused panic amongst the migrants.

On Monday, the EU agreed on a 10-point action plan to try to ease the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean. Search-and-rescue operations will be stepped up, and a campaign to destroy traffickers' boats will be launched. Funds for Frontex will increase and its rescue operation Triton will be expanded.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini described the action plan as a "strong reaction from the EU to the tragedies" that "shows a new sense of urgency and political will".

"We are developing a truly European sense of solidarity in fighting human trafficking - finally so,” Mogherini said.

As the talks between EU foreign minister took place in Luxembourg late on Monday, Italy and Malta said at least two other rescues were taking place.

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said one of the vessels was a dinghy off the Libyan coast with about 100-150 migrants on board, while the other was a larger boat carrying 300 people.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has described Sunday's shipwreck  as "a game changer", warning that “the history books will judge Europe very harshly if it fails to take action”.