A migrant child looks out of a police bus in Valletta, Malta, after being rescued from the sea off the Italian island of Lampedusa. Photograph: Darrin Zammit Lupi/Reuters
Reacting to news of the disaster on Friday night, the Italian prime minister, Enrico Letta, reportedly said the latest deaths were a "new and stark confirmation" of how serious the situation in the Mediterranean is.
Passengers on board the boat had been able to make an emergency call with a satellite phone which enabled rescuers to pinpoint their location, a spokesman for the Italian coastguard said.
The head of the Italian Red Cross said the latest deaths were yet more proof that urgent steps needed to be taken to open humanitarian corridors to protect migrant boats.
