Diplomatic furore

This is how ChinaDaily reported the death of the six Chinese immigrants in the Mediterranean, a tragedy that is causing a diplomatic furore between Malta and Italy. From China Daily:

Italian police are hunting two Maltese men believed to have caused the deaths of at least six would-be illegal immigrants from Asia, according to the Chinese Embassy in Italy. The six people died off the south coast of Sicily on Thursday and three others are still missing after smugglers threw them off a boat, possibly to evade capture by police, authorities said.
Rescue teams alerted by a passing merchant ship found six survivors struggling in the water nearly 23 kilometres south of Sicily.

The victims are thought to be Chinese, according to local media. "So far, we have not received any confirmation [that they are Chinese] from the Italian side," an official from the embassy told China Daily yesterday. He said because the incident coincided with Easter, it would take one or two more days for the local authorities to release official confirmation, adding that the embassy has learned that the survivors are being cared for by the local police. Embassy staff cannot visit the survivors if their nationalities have not been confirmed...

The inadaquacies that have shamed Malta worldwide - by Noel Grima

Chinese illegal immigrants die at sea - Shackled Hearts