AKIPRESS.COM - Funerals for 24 people killed in the worst ever recorded capsizing of a migrant boat in the Mediterranean are being held in Malta.

More than 800 people died in Sunday's disaster. Italian police say the captain crashed the boat by mistake against a merchant rescue ship.

The number of deaths in such incidents has now reached 1,750 so far this year, reports BBC.

EU leaders are holding an emergency summit later to find ways to stem the number of people risking their lives.

The multi-faith service is being held at Malta's Mater Dei hospital near Valetta. It is being led by the Bishop of Gozo, Mario Grech, and an imam, and was attended by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat as well as ministers from Italy and Greece.

"The migrants were escaping from a desperate situation, they were trying to find freedom and a better life," Bishop Grech said, according to the Malta Independent newspaper.

Draft proposals for the meeting of EU leaders later on Thursday include offering 5,000 places for resettlement for migrants "qualifying for protection" under a pilot project.

More than 21,000 people are estimated to have reached Italy alone this year, with more also arriving in other EU member states.

Leaders are also expected to commit to "undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers".