CATANIA , Italy, Aug. 18 (UPI) -- Eight people were arrested in Italy Tuesday in connection with the sinking of a boat off the Libyan coast in which 49 refugees died of suffocation.
The overcrowded fishing boat was attempting to carry refugees from Libya to Europe across the Mediterranean Sea. The captain and seven crew members allegedly blocked the victims from leaving the ship's hold as it sank. The Italian Navy and a Norwegian ship rescued 312 survivors.