Captain of Capsized migrants' Boat Charged With Manslaughter

The Tunisian captain of a boat that capsized off Libya on Sunday, killing hundreds of migrants, has been charged with reckless multiple homicide, Italian officials say.

He has also been charged along with a member of the crew with favouring illegal immigration.

The two were among 27 survivors who arrived in Sicily late on Monday.

The charges come after the EU set out a package of measures to try to ease the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

Search-and-rescue operations will be stepped up, and there will be a campaign to destroy traffickers' boats.

A homicide investigation has been opened into the disaster.

After speaking to the survivors, the UN refugee agency said that about 800 people had died in Sunday's disaster. Earlier accounts had put the death toll at about 700.

"There were a little over 800 people on board, including children aged between 10 and 12," said Carlotta Sami, of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Italy.

"There were Syrians, about 150 Eritreans, Somalians... They had left Tripoli at about 8am on Saturday."