A Bangladeshi teenager who was among the survivors from the smuggler’s vessel that sank off Libya on Sunday, revealed there had been three classes of passengers on board.
“Those who had the least money were stuffed into the hold at the bottom, and locked inside,” the teen, identified by his first name Abdirizzak, told Corriere della Sera.
“We were on the middle level and only those who paid more were above.”
When the first collision happened in pitch darkness, scenes of pure terror ensued, he said.
“Everyone was screaming, pushing, punching, elbowing – terrified. From below we could hear those who were locked in shouting ‘Help, Help!’
“I don’t know how but somehow we managed to swim outside just in time before the boat went down.”
Another Bangladeshi survivor told Britain’s Daily Telegraph the migrant boat had hit the Portuguese container ship three times.
“People panicked – they all ran to the other side of the deck. That’s what tipped us over,” 17-year-old Riajul was quoted as saying.
“Most of the other migrants were African and they didn’t know how to swim. I did and that’s why I survived.
Prosecutors in the Sicilian city of Catania said they believed the boat’s Tunisian captain was responsible for steering mistakes and the reckless overcrowding which led to disaster.
Mohammed Ali Malek, 27, will appear before a judge tomorrow along with crew member and Syrian national Mahmud Bikhit, 25, who was also arrested.
—AFP
