The images of dead migrant children washing ashore in Libya captured the tragic loss of life which many Maltese are becoming “worryingly used to”, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said.

A corpse washed up on a beach in Garabuli, a coastal town East of Tripoli known as a sending site for migrants.

“We are getting too used to this, as if it’s normal for 400 people to die in a shipwreck,” he told Times of Malta.

“For Christ’s sake we’re talking about 400 people who lost their lives: 400 men, women and children. Children who could have very well been my own,” Dr Muscat said, his gaze becoming sombre as he reflected on this tragedy.

He was speaking as fresh reports yesterday surfaced of another 41 migrants feared dead in the latest Mediterranean shipwreck.

More than 400 migrants are believed to have died in the past days as smugglers made the most of the first patch of good weather to send dozens of unseaworthy boats to Europe. Dr Muscat said he was surprised by the lack of coverage the tragedies have had in the international press.

Archbishop Charles Scicluna too had a strong message to send, urging Europe not to turn a blind eye to the “persecuted peoples of the Mediterranean,” as he referred to the Times of Malta front page yesterday showing a toddler who had drowned.

The body of a young migrant boy washed ashore in Tripoli.

Read more on Times of Malta.