Migrant boat disaster: survivors reveal terror

Rescuers pull survivors from the sea after a boat carrying 90 migrants hit rocks off the island of Rhodes, one of three vessels to sink in the Mediterranean region. Photo / AP

Two teenage survivors of the Mediterranean's worst disaster since World War II have described the terror of being thrown into the sea in pitch darkness, after the boat they were travelling on smashed into a merchant vessel that had been sent to its rescue.

Nasir and Riajul, both 17, from Bangladesh, provided key evidence of how migrants on the deck of the boat that left Libya bound for the Italian island of Lampedusa rushed to one side because they feared being crushed against the hull of the Portuguese merchant ship.

The description of their ordeal came as Italian prosecutors named the alleged captain of the converted fishing boat and a crew member, who were among the 28 survivors of Monday's disaster, which is thought to have claimed the lives of at least 800 migrants.

The survivors were led ashore at the port of Catania in eastern Sicily yesterday.

Mohammed Ali Malek, a Tunisian, 27, the alleged captain, will be charged with causing a shipwreck, multiple manslaughter and aiding and abetting people trafficking. Mahmud Bikhit, a Syrian, 25, the alleged crew member, will be charged with aiding and abetting trafficking.

They will appear before a judge in Catania today.

Reports emerged that Malek was drunk and smoking hashish. Several Italian news websites claimed his condition contributed to the tragedy.

"He was drinking wine, he was drunk, and he was smoking hashish at the helm just before the boat bashed into the Portuguese ship," survivors were quoted as saying. "In five minutes, the boat went down."

The King Jacob had been sent to help the 20m migrant boat after it put out a distress signal.

But buffeted by waves and with hundreds of people, including women and children, crammed into the hold and middle deck, the smugglers' boat could not manoeuvre easily and started slamming into the merchant vessel.

"Our boat smashed into the big ship at least three times and people panicked - they all ran to the other side of the deck. That's what tipped us over. It was the fault of the captain of the smugglers, there is no doubt about it," said Riajul.

"We all fell into the water. People were shouting, 'Help us, help us, hey, help us.' Most of the other migrants were African and they didn't know how to swim. I did and that's why I survived.

"I left Bangladesh because I needed money."

Just 28 people survived the disaster, while 24 bodies were recovered after an exhaustive search.

The hundreds below deck had been locked in by the smugglers and had no chance of escape, Italian investigators said.