Tunisian helming migrants' boat believed to have perished

Sources at the police immigration section denied claims issued by news agency ANSA over the weekend claiming Maltese authorities had arrested a suspect involved in the Lampedusa tragedy.

On Saturday night ANSA Desk issued a statement reading: "The Maltese authorities would be holding a Tunisian national suspected to be the 'smuggler' of the new boat wreck which took place yesterday in the Strait of Sicily. According to reports gathered in Valletta, the man would have been identified by many of the 146 survivors transferred to Malta and are testifying to the authorities."

However, sources close to the investigation surrounding the tragic incident confirmed to MaltaToday that the news was fake. "Whoever leaked the news to ANSA was not aware of the full facts," the source held.

When the 144 survivors disembarked from AFM Patrol Vessel P61 at Haywharf, they were taken to the Immigration Section at the Police HQ where they were interviewed. A Tunisian national was amongst the survivors. During their interviews with immigration officers, a number of survivors claimed a Tunisian national was at the helm of the boat, but none of them identified him as the Tunisian who was with them on the P61.

Furthermore, a few survivors argued that while it was true a Tunisian captain was steering the boat, they had personally seen him drowning when the boat sank, with one survivor telling the police he had witnessed the Tunisian drowning moments after the incident. Other survivors could not confirm the whereabouts of the Tunisian captain, saying that unless he was taken by the Italian authorities, he must have perished.

A boat laden with over 250 migrants capsized off Lampedusa when those on board moved to one side of the boat in a bid to attract the attention of a rescue helicopter. Maltese and Italian rescue vessels managed to save 221 people and recovered 34 bodies from the sea. The authorities did not rule out the possibility of other migrants having drowned and their bodies not recovered.