Six men who died on board a migrant vessel that was denied safe passage into Malta have been named and identified by an Italian newspaper.

Huruy Yohannes, Debesay Rusom, Hdru Yemane, Omer Seid, Mogos Tesfamichael, and Filimon Bashay were part of the 63 people who departed from Libya on a rubber boat on 9th April. Their names were published in Avvenire. 

The vessel, along with three others, were denied entry in Malta, Spain, and Italy after their countries declared the ports unsafe due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Libya has also closed its ports due to the ongoing civil war.

After several days, a Maltese-owned vessel ferried the dinghy back to Libya. The men were dead and six others remain missing.

“The victims of our policies and of our indifference have names and faces too, like all of us,” Archbishop Charles Scicluna wrote in a status.

The death of the asylum seekers has resulted in a full-scale police investigation into Prime Minister Robert Abela, Brigadier Jeffrey Curmi, and numerous AFM soldiers.

The Maltese government has remained firm on their decision, with Foreign Affairs Minister Evarist Bartolo calling for millions in EU aid to address the migration crisis within Libya.

There are at least 62 migrants, including 13 women and six children, currently in danger and in need of rescue in Malta’s Search and Rescue zone, according to a migrant emergency hotline.