The captain of the migrant ship that capsized and killed up to 900 passengers has been charged with reckless multiple homicide for causing the passengers' deaths by overloading the vessel and accidentally ramming it into a Portuguese container ship, reports The Independent.
Overloaded boat
The migrant ship capsized when its captain steered it into a Portuguese cargo ship and passengers moved aboard frantically following the collision. Prosecutors believe the fishing boat was so heavily overloaded that it couldn't be maneuvered properly.
Survivors tell The Independent that the hundreds that drowned were locked in the hold and lower decks of the three-deck fishing boat and unable to escape the disaster.
Only 28 survivors
Captain Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, was reportedly trying to take the estimated 950 passengers to safety when it rammed into the other ship. He and his crew member Mahmud Bikhit are among the 28 survivors rescued from the 66-foot-long former fishing trawler, says The Independent.
Italian prosecuters are holding Malek on chargers of "reckless homicide and causing a shipwreck," says The Independent. Both Malek and Bikhit are also accused of immigration offenses.
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