DHAKA: European leaders are to triple funding for search-and-rescue operations aimed at migrant boats in the Mediterranean following crisis talks in Brussels.

The EU will also look at ways to capture and destroy smugglers’ boats and deploy immigration officers to non-EU countries, officials said.

Several EU member states have promised more ships and other resources, reports the BBC.

The summit comes after more than 750 people died on a boat crossing from Libya on Sunday.

Earlier, funerals for 24 of the victims were held in Malta.

The number of people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa has risen sharply in recent months.

More than 35,000 are thought to have crossed from Africa to Europe this year and some 1,750 have died while attempting the journey. The estimated toll from Sunday's capsizing was the worst on record.

The boost in funding to some €120m (£86m) brings spending back up to about the level of Mare Nostrum, an Italian-run search-and-rescue operation that was cancelled last year.

Several member states pledged additional naval resources on Thursday.

BDST: 0835 HRS, APR 24, 2015
BD