300 dead as migrants’ boats capsize

Victims swallowed up by the waves

Rome: UNHCR Europe director Vincent Cochetel said the Mediterranean Sea incident where more than 300 were killed was a "tragedy on an enormous scale". Nine survivors brought to the island of Lampedusa by the Italian coast guard are believed to be from West Africa. Initial reports on Monday suggested that at least 29 migrants had died after their dinghy overturned. The UNHCR said that dinghy was one of four that left Libya at the weekend.

Those rescued on Wednesday morning had spent days drifting without food or water in two of the other dinghies - with each said to be carrying more than 100 people. The survivors said the fourth dinghy disappeared at sea. Carlotta Sami, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR, said the victims had been "swallowed up by the waves," with the youngest a child of 12.

"This is a tragedy on an enormous scale and a stark reminder that more lives could be lost if those seeking safety are left at the mercy of the sea," Mr Cochetel said in a statement. The UN said the latest incident should be a message to the European Union that the current search and rescue operation in the Mediterranean was inadequate. "Europe cannot afford to do too little too late," Mr Cochetel added.

The survivors rescued on Wednesday were from two of four dinghies that left Libya at the weekend In November, Italy ended an operation known as Mare Nostrum, which was launched in October 2013 in response to a tragedy off Lampedusa in which 366 people died. The year-long operation was aimed at rescuing seaborne migrants, with Italian vessels looking for ships carrying migrants that may have run into trouble off the Libyan coast.

Late last year, the UNHCR warned that Italy's decision to end its operation in the Mediterranean would almost certainly lead to more deaths. But other European countries, including the UK, said a rescue service for migrants could encourage them and so the operation was scaled down.

The EU now runs a border control operation, called Triton, which only operates close to Europe's coast and with fewer ships. UNHCR, Save the Children and other aid groups blasted the new EU-backed rescue patrol as ineffective. The European Union took over Mediterranean patrols after Italy phased out its robust Mare Nostrum operation in November. It had been launched in 2013 after 360 migrants died off the coast of the Sicilian island of Lampedusa.