EU policymakers have been accused of "killing by neglect" by reducing search and rescue missions in the Mediterranean - potentially costing the lives of over 1,500 migrants.
Mare Nostrum, the Italy-led rescue mission, was scrapped in October 2014 and replaced by Triton, which deployed fewer ships and prioritised deterring migrants over rescue operations, a report by academics said.
But as the conflicts in Syria and Libya deepened, migrants continued to resort to people smugglers who packed them on to dinghies and sent them across the sea.
Documents unearthed by UK universities showed the European border force Frontex pushed ahead with the change despite an internal assessment warning that if it was not properly planned it "would likely result in a higher number of fatalities".
Over 1,500 people died trying to cross the sea in the months after the change was implemented, according to the report, Death By Rescue: The Lethal Effects Of The EU's Policies Of Non-assistance At Sea.
The number of refugees crossing the Med in the first four months of 2014 and 2015 stayed the same at 26,000, but death rates soared.
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