Europe "collectively guilty" for drowning of migrants

Europe "collectively guilty" for drowning of migrants

"Before anything else, let's throw a lifeline to all these people who are drowning by creating a European rescue fleet for the 28 members of the European Union. One rescue boat for each country," Kouchner said.

As many as 700 migrants were feared dead after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean "raising pressure on Europe to face down anti-immigrant bias and find money for support as turmoil in Libya and the Middle East worsens the crisis," the agency said.

Executive Director of EU border control agency Frontex Fabrice Leggeri told RTL radio that "since the launch of its Triton border protection program on November 1, his agency had helped rescue a third of all lives saved in the Mediterranean."

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said that the EU has "a moral duty" to prevent new tragedies in the Mediterranean, and announced that EU heads of state or government will soon discuss this issue.