Italian police apprehended the five men on charges of multiple homicides and human trafficking on Friday. The arrests come following the feared drowning of more than 200 migrants after their boat capsized off the coast of Libya while trying to reach Europe.

Three Libyans and two Algerians were detained by police for questioning on Thursday after survivors of the shipwreck arrived in Palermo on Wednesday evening.

Surviving migrants gave testimonies alleging the suspects stabbed and beat passengers during the voyage, including locking many below deck.

More than 600 migrants are believed to have been onboard the overcrowded ship before it hit trouble and overturned in the Mediterranean Sea.

An Irish navy vessel pulled 373 men, women and children from the water.

Trapped below deck

The Italian police told AFP that each of the accused had their own role in the voyage, with one in charge and others responsible for subduing the migrants.

Survivors explained to police that African migrants were put in the hold so "they could be closed in and compacted in the hull for three days, having paid half price for the crossing."

According to Italian police, "the migrants, on the traffickers' orders, tried desperately to get rid of it," as the water seeped below deck.

When these actions failed, "they did everything to try and get out to save themselves, but instead were attacked with knifes and sticks, pushed back into the hull", at which point the traffickers "sealed the hatch, with the weight of the rest of the migrants, positioned on purpose to stop it reopening."

Rescuers believe at least 100 people who were trapped in the hold when the boat capsized would have drowned immediately.

kb/bk (Reuters, AFP)