Cramped on a fishing trawler, about 600 women, men and children found themselves stranded at sea just metres from dry land and safety. They had mostly fled from Eritrea before embarking on a dangerous crossing from to escape Libya.
Under a moonless sky, one man lit a makeshift torch to attract attention, accidentally setting some fuel that had leaked on the boat on fire. Panicking passengers rushed to the other side of the boat to avoid the flames, causing it to capsize.
In fron...
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Matteo de Bellis is a human rights, migration and public policy researcher at Amnesty International.