(VOVworld) – The Italian government convened an emergency meeting in Rome Sunday to discuss ways to deal with increased illegal immigration by sea.

Rescuers have so far found few bodies or survivors (Photo: AFP)

The meeting took place after as many as 700 migrants drowned when their boat capsized en route to Europe last Saturday off the Libyan coast, 200km south of the Italian island of Lampedusa. 17 Italian naval vessels scoured the area for survivors. So far the Italian coastguard has rescued 28 survivors and retrieved approximately 40 bodies.Also on Sunday, the EU called for an emergency meeting of foreign and interior ministers to discuss this unacceptable migrant tragedy. It’s unclear when the meeting will take place.