Funeral Held for Victims of Migrant Boat Disaster As EU Leaders Agree on Aid Package

A memorial service in Malta today honored the hundreds of migrants who died over the weekend after their ship capsized while sailing from Libya to Europe in what is being called the deadliest incident ever in the Mediterranean Sea.

As many as 800 people may have died during the incident, but soldiers carried just 24 coffins during the event, as those were the only bodies recovered. Photos show the soldiers with wooden coffins over their shoulders along paths lined with flowers.

The soldiers took the caskets to a multifaith service at Malta's Addolorata Chapel, with services led by both a bishop and an imam.

"We can continue to read out the laws like lawyers do, but that is not enough. The way of the law, the way of justice should open itself to the way of love," Bishop Mario Grech said during the memorial.

Just days after UNHCR pegged the April 18 incident the deadliest ever in the sea that has become a common route for migrants fleeing countries like Syria and Eritrea, boats packed with migrants continue to make their way through the southern Mediterranean. Video from the Italian Coast Guard released Thursday shows a late- night rescue operation of an overcrowded wooden boat, with dozens of migrants, in the middle of the sea.

Meanwhile, European Union leaders agreed on a draft emergency crisis package.The agreement will open up 5,000 resettlement spaces for refugees, despite the fact that more than 30,000 migrants have crossed into Europe this year, largely entering through Italy, Greece, and Malta. Specifically, the measure would set up "a first voluntary pilot project on resettlement, offering at least 5,000 places to persons qualifying for protection."

The leaders doubled down on their commitment to put twice as much funding toward EU migrant operations — including search and rescue — in the next two years. They also agreed to boost emergency funding for countries with popular points of entry.

Leaders are expected to also shift their sites on prevention, working to help stabilize the Libyan government, while aiming to stop the boats from falling into traffickers' hands in the first place. According to the Guardian, officials will likely "undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and destroy vessels before they are used by traffickers," read the draft agreement.

"Our immediate priority is to prevent more people dying at sea. We have therefore decided to strengthen our presence at sea, to fight the traffickers, to prevent illegal migration flows and to reinforce internal solidarity," a statement from the leaders after summit said.