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Migrant Boat Captain Faces Mass Murder Charges

The skipper of the migrant boat which capsized off the Libyan coast killing at least 800 people is facing charges of mass murder.

Tunisian Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, will appear before a judge on Friday along with crew member and Syrian national Mahmud Bikhit, 25, following their arrest.

They were among only 28 survivors brought ashore at the Sicilian port of Catania.

Malek is accused of multiple first degree homicides, causing a shipwreck and people trafficking. Bikhit is facing the latter charge.

Italian investigators have said the tragedy was caused by by Malek ramming his boat by accident into a cargo ship, which had gone to its rescue.

This then caused those on board the overcrowded vessel to move around causing it to capsize, said prosecutors.

The number of migrants who have died making the Mediterranean crossing to Europe so far this year is around 1,750 - some 30 times higher than for the same period in 2014, said the International Organisation for Migration.

There are fears that last year's death toll of 3,279 may be passed in a matter of weeks, and could well top 30,000 by the end of the year.

Joel Millman, spokesman for IOM, said: "We just want to make sure people understand how much more ... rapid these deaths have been coming this year than last year."

Several hundred people were locked on the lower level, hundreds more were inside a second level and hundreds more were on deck, according to prosecutors.

EU leaders including David Cameron will meet in Brussels on Thursday to discuss a plan to tackle the crisis but Labour's Ed Miliband has said the current proposals do not go "nearly far enough" and it will be "a stain on the EU" if proper action is not taken.

Foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg produced a 10-point plan for dealing with the crisis, but Save The Children blamed politicians for "yet more dithering".

Gemma Parkin, who is working in Sicily for the charity, told Sky News EU leaders should immediately support the restart of search and rescue operations in the Mediterranean when they meet on Thursday.

She said: "These are women and children drowning. It's becoming the new norm and any politician, in their retirement years, if they don't make the right decision now, they'll look back on this with grave regret."

Speaking on Sky News, former Foreign Secretary William Hague warned there was no "quick fix" to the problem and that the answer was not to relax immigration controls in the EU or UK.

With governments across the EU being urged to take responsibility, foreign ministers have agreed further measures to deal with the crisis, including a joint task force to track down traffickers and efforts to destroy the often poorly maintained and overcrowded boats they use.

At an already scheduled meeting in Luxembourg, they unveiled a plan which also involves doubling the size and funding of Triton, the Europe-wide border protection operation.

There has been a surge in migrants trying to reach European shores - usually Italy and Malta - as people flee conflict, repression and poverty in the Middle East and Africa.