Hundreds of terrified migrants drowned on board a smuggler boat because they were locked in the ship"s hold when it capsized, a survivor revealed today.

More than 900 people – including 200 women and up to 50 children – are feared dead after the boat overturned in the one of the worst maritime disasters since the end of World War Two.

In the wake of the tragedy, Britain faced pressure to end its "immoral" opposition to rescue operations in the Mediterranean as only 28 passengers were rescued after their overcrowded fishing boat tipped over at night on its way from Libya to Italy. 

One of the survivors, a man from Bangladesh, said there was 950 migrants on board –  including 200 women and up to 50 children – and told prosecutors about 300 migrants were trapped in the ship"s hold when it sank. 

Politicians and charities have attacked the British government and other EU states for supporting Italy"s controversial decision to stop search and rescue operations last year.  

Rescuers recovered 24 bodies from the sea following the disaster, which took place off Libyan waters, south of the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, shortly after midnight on Sunday. 

The small numbers of survivors make more sense if hundreds of people were locked in the hold, because with so much weight down below, "surely the boat would have sunk," said General Antonino Iraso, of the Italian Border Police, which has deployed boats in the operation. 

This tragedy comes just days after another shipwreck in the area claimed 400 lives.