The bouquets being sent to Mater Dei Hospital in memory of the migrants who  lost their lives, shows Malta has a “compassionate soul” which outweighs those with racist sentiments, President Marie Louise Coleiro Preca said this morning.

She was speaking at the hospital mortuary where 24 of the hundreds of migrants who lost their lives last week are being examined.

The mortuary is brimming with bouquets after hospital CEO Ivan Falzon made a call for all flowers to be sent in honour of those who had died and ad no one to mourn for them on the island.

Ms Coleiro Preca said described last week’s events as “a tragedy for all humanity”.

She said she was overwhelmed by the show of solidarity exhibited by the bouquets and said this was a reflection of how the vast majority of Maltese felt about the migration disaster.

“No one should lose their lives this was,” she said.
She also said that those who had turned to messages of hate directed at migrants on social media were misguided.

Among the messages left on the bouquets were prayers, RIP, and one passage that read “you have lost the place of birth lottery”.

The President placed a wreath and observed a moment of silence in the morgue.