Joseph Muscat said Malta felt "abandoned" by the rest of Europe and urged the EU to take action.Malta and Italy launched a rescue operation after a boat capsized on Friday, killing at least 30 people. It happened 120km (70 miles) off Lampedusa, the Italian island where at least 300 migrants drowned last week.
On Saturday, rescuers pulled another 20 bodies from the sea, raising the toll from that shipwreck to 359. The loss of life has renewed the debate within EU member states on migration rules. The BBC's Matthew Price, on Lampedusa, says the boat was carrying Syrians and Palestinians.
The Syrians already in the refugee centre on Lampedusa had spoken to friends and relatives who had boarded the vessel, he says.
