INTERNATIONAL NEWS - The boat that sank in the Mediterranean over the weekend with hundreds of migrants on board may have capsized after being touched or swamped by a cargo ship that came to its aid, a United Nations official said.
This is according to CNN.
Carlotta Asami, a spokeswoman for the United Nations' refugee agency, made the comments to CNN early Tuesday after she and two of her colleagues had spoken to multiple survivors from the disaster who arrived in Catania, Italy.
"They say that there was a point in which they were very close and probably what happened is that, you know, a big ship creating a big wave - they were approaching in a very strong manner and they lost balance," Asami said.
The account she offered differs from that provided by authorities on Sunday. They said that as the rescue ship approached late Saturday, migrants on the smaller boat moved to one side, hoping to be saved, and caused the vessel to capsize.
The conflicting accounts of the chaotic events highlight the challenges faced by commercial vessels that are often called upon to help in the escalating migrant boat crisis in the Mediterranean.
"They say that there was a point in which they were very close and probably what happened is that, you know, a big ship creating a big wave - they were approaching in a very strong manner and they lost balance," Asami said.
The account she offered differs from that provided by authorities on Sunday. They said that as the rescue ship approached late Saturday, migrants on the smaller boat moved to one side, hoping to be saved, and caused the vessel to capsize.
The conflicting accounts of the chaotic events highlight the challenges faced by commercial vessels that are often called upon to help in the escalating migrant boat crisis in the Mediterranean.
