Lieutenant Catia Pellegrino, the commander of the patrol vessel Libra, who has a presidential medal of honour for rescues she’s co-ordinated, is one of those suspected of mishandling the situation

Several Italian naval officers are being investigated by prosecutors for culpable homicide as a result of their alleged failure to rescue migrants from a sinking fishing boat – an incident in which around 300 people lost their lives, including over 100 children.

Lieutenant Catia Pellegrino, the commander of the patrol vessel Libra, who has a presidential medal of honour for rescues she’s co-ordinated, is one of those suspected of mishandling the SOS situation.

The tragedy, which occurred in the Mediterranean on October 11, 2013, appears to be the result of confusion over who should come to the aid of the boat between the Italian and Maltese authorities, it’s been reported.

The Italian navy has faster vessels, but it was Malta who was handed responsibility for coming to the boat’s aid.

The fishing boat, which came from Syria and was carrying 480 people, sank about 60 miles (100km) south of the Italian island of Lampedusa, which is around 135 miles from Malta. However, search and rescue responsibilities fall to Malta in these waters.

A survivor of the incident, Aleppo doctor Mohanad Jammo, said he called the Italian coastguard at 11am.

Nothing happened, he told Italian magazine L’Espresso, The Times reported, so he called the coastguard again at 1pm but alleged that the person that answered the phone gave him a number for the Maltese authorities then hung up.

A Maltese rescue boat didn’t arrive until 5.51pm. At this point most of the children were dead.

Pellegrino’s Libra arrived on the scene shortly afterwards.

A spokesman for the Italian navy told The Times: ‘Anything is possible but a procedural error seems unlikely to me. These are certainly moments of anguish and worry for the officers placed under investigation and their families.'

Speaking at the time, Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said: ‘This is not just another wake-up call for Europe. This is the time for action. This is a European problem, not a problem for Italy or Malta only.’

MailOnline has asked the Italian Navy for a comment.

On Sunday Italian officials said that 14 bodies had been recovered in a two-day period on smugglers' boats packed with migrants making the perilous journey across the Mediterranean.

Thousands of migrants have risked their lives crossing the Mediterranean sea. Pictured are migrants from Eritrea jumping into the water on August 29, 2016, from a crowded wooden boat near Libya as they are helped by an NGO

The Italian Coast Guard says the dead included a 25-year-old pregnant woman. In all 5,700 migrants were rescued from dozens of small boats and rubber dinghies between Friday and Saturday.

Premier Matteo Renzi appealed to his European partners to come up with a fundamental solution to the migrant issue during a visit to Sicily on Saturday, saying "we cannot go on this way." He called for financial penalties for eastern European countries that refuse to take in migrants.