Summary

  • Funerals for 24 of more than 800 people killed when a migrant boat capsized on Sunday have been held in Malta

  • EU leaders meet in Brussels at an emergency summit on the growing migrant crisis in the Mediterranean

  • 1,750 people are known to have died at sea so far this year, a huge rise on the same period last year

  • Italy says it is "at war" with migrant traffickers, and has urged the EU to take military action

  • The would-be migrants are attempting to flee war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa

Live Reporting

Sarah Fowler, Claudia Allen, Yaroslav Lukov and James Reevell

  1. 'Could have been me'

    Gavin Lee
    BBC News, Malta

    tweets: "Today's painful for me, every survivor here knows it could have been them" Pushra, a Sudanese migrant at Malta funeral.

    A Sudanese migrant in Malta

  2. And here's the full statement by senior UN officials (see 13:01) on the migrant crisis.

  3. How many more?

    Protesters in Brussels are calling for urgent measures to prevent further tragedies at sea.

    A protestor holds up a sign during a demonstration in BrusselsAP

  4. Solidarity plea

    Also in Brussels, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras says: "We need for the EU to develop an effective, human policy for migration based on solidarity, particularly for the frontlines in the Mediterranean countries."

    Greece - along with Italy and Malta - is struggling to cope with the rising tide of migrants from North Africa and the Middle East.

  5. 'Catastrophe'

    Angela Merkel describes the tragedy at the weekend as a "catastrophe".

    Tackling the issue is a matter of the European Union's values, she says, worldwide, and is of the utmost importance.

    Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses reporters as she arrives at the European Council headquarters for an extraordinary summit of European leaders to deal with a worsening migration crisis, on April 23, 2015 in BrusselsAFP

  6. 'Roadmap'

    Arriving at the EU summit, German Chancellor Angela Merkel says: "Above all, we have to save people's lives and take adequate measures.

    "I hope that in the coming days we'll have a roadmap, we have a great deal to do in this area..."

  7. Prosecutor's statement

    The Sicilian prosecutor's office, investigating Sunday's capsizing, says the Italian navy will gather evidence from the wreck "as soon as possible".

    It says the migrants paid between $700 (£466) and $7,000 for the trip, and were first kept on a farm outside Tripoli for up to a month, where they were subject to violence.

  8. Donald Tusk, European Council President

    tweets: Saving innocent people's lives is 1st priority. This includes rescuing people, but also fighting smugglers & preventing illegal #migration.

  9. Katya Adler
    Europe editor

    tweets: #Merkel, #Cameron, #Hollande +Italian PM Renzi, meeting together before start of #EU migration summit: The powerful establishing positions

  10. Another 220 migrants rescued

    The Italian coastguard says it rescued 220 migrants travelling in two dinghies off the coast of Libya on Thursday morning. They were taken to the Sicilian port of Catania.

    A rescued migrant with a number on his right arm, sits on bus after disembark off the Italian Guardia di Finanza vessel Denaro at the Sicilian harbour of Catania on April 23, 2015.AFP

  12. 'Nowhere near enough'

    Chris Morris
    BBC News, Brussels

    writes: "Europe's leaders have been shocked by the appallingly high number of deaths at sea in the past few weeks - and they are gathering at the highest political level to try to find ways to stop it.

    "There will be pledges of more resources and more naval assets to patrol the Mediterranean, and there will be discussion of targeted military strikes to destroy the boats used by smuggling gangs.

    "Critics say it's nowhere near enough - that even doubling the size of the current naval effort will leave it smaller than it was a year ago."

  13. 'Minimalist' plan

    Senior UN officials describe a 10-point EU plan agreed on Monday to tackle the crisis as "minimalist," saying it focuses primarily on stemming the arrival of migrants and refugees on EU shores.

    In an open letter to the EU, the head of the UN refugee agency, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, the UN special representative on International Migration and the Director General of the International Organisation of Migration call for "bold, collective action," making the safety, protection and human rights of migrants the top priority.

  14. Tears for the unknown

    Gavin Lee
    BBC News, Malta

    tweets: Hundreds attend Maltese public funeral for 24 unidentified migrants

    Migrants attend funeral for 24 victims of boat disaster in Malta (23 April 2015)

  15. 'Funeral march'

    Ahead of the EU gathering in Brussels, Amnesty International activists and migrants took part in a "funeral march" to draw attention to the Mediterranean migrants crisis.

    Amnesty International activists and migrants take part in a "funeral march" to outline the Mediterranean migrants crisis around the European Council in BrusselsAFP

  17. At the scene

    Stuart Hughes
    BBC News, Malta

    writes: "The 24 men laid to rest here were mourned, even though their names are unknown.

    "Their plain, dark wood coffins were slowly carried from the hospital mortuary on the shoulders of members of Malta's armed forces, along a route lined with bouquets of flowers."

    Read more.

  18. Who are the people smugglers? Experts say they are part of complex criminal networks that do not recognise borders and are akin to "multinational corporations".

  19. The 24 people buried in Malta today are the only victims of the disaster whose bodies have so far been found. It's thought most of the more than 800 people who died were trapped inside the boat.