The Opposition yesterday accused the government of “a deafening silence” after doubts were cast on the army’s modus operandi in the migrant tragedy off Lampedusa.

The tragedy happened on October 11 but media reports that surfaced since then in Malta and abroad have cast a long shadow on how the matter was handled by the Maltese and Italian authorities.

The reports, partly based on eyewitness accounts of survivors, point towards indecision by the authorities to respond to the emergency call from the migrant boat. In the tragedy 270 migrants died when the boat capsized. Calls for full disclosure of the facts had gone unheeded, the Opposition said, adding the silence was “unacceptable”.

Reacting, the army said it had acted according to its international legal obligations and were it not for its intervention more lives would have been lost at sea.

“This is supported by clear, documented evidence that shows without doubt the army acted in a serious, cooperative way according to international obligations,” the statement said.

The Labour Party accused the Opposition of harming Malta’s reputation. It said the Nationalist Party was trying to sow doubts into the heroic actions of the soldiers who saved hundreds of lives on a fatal night.