A paramedic helps a migrant after being rescued from the capsized boat on August 5. Two Libyans, two Algerians and a Tunisian were placed under formal arrest for causing death of over 200 migrants. (AFP File)
Italy arrested five North African men today on suspicion of multiple homicide and human trafficking in the presumed drowning of more than 200 people, saying they used clubs and knives against migrants.
Most of the dead were locked in the hold of a boat that sank off the coast of Libya on Wednesday (August 5). Police said many children were believed to be among those who perished.
Two Libyans, two Algerians and a Tunisian ranging in age from 21 to 24, were placed under formal arrest in Palermo after being questioned yesterday. Police had earlier mistakenly identified the Tunisian as a Libyan.
Police said the accused men charged the migrants between $1,200 and $1,800 for the voyage, depending on where they would be placed on the deck of the boat. Those in the hold paid about half as much as those above, they added.
The boat was carrying some 650 people. Italian and Irish ships rescued more than 400 migrants and recovered 26 bodies, including three children. Police arrested the men after speaking to survivors during the night after they arrived in Palermo.
© Thomson Reuters 2015