Malta PM calls for joint effort to tackle illegal immigration

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat on Thursday called for joint efforts at the European Union (EU) level to tackle illegal immigration, after hundreds of African migrants are feared to have died in a boat sinking off the Italian island of Lampedusa. The death toll from the sinking migrant boat carrying about 500 people could well top 200, according to local media reports. "We hope this serves as a wake-up call for the EU. We are conveying our solidarity to the Italian government as well -- we cannot let just one country deal with migration, even though Malta is not involved in this case," Muscat told reporters. He urged the EU to come up with long-term solutions, while expressing full solidarity with the family members of the victims and also with the Italian government. Italian authorities are still searching for survivors of Thursday's disaster, as dozens of migrants are still missing. The 20-meter vessel caught fire after the migrants, mainly from Somalia, Eritrea and Ethiopia according to media reports, set fire to a blanket after the ship started to take water in order to attract the attention of passing ships. But the fire soon spread to the rest of the boat, and the ship capsized as migrants moved to avoid the fire.