ITALIAN police have arrested three alleged people-traffickers accused of the death of a 10-year-old diabetic girl after they threw her insulin overboard.

The three Egyptian men were allegedly in charge of a boatload of 335 refugees that arrived in the port of Augusta, Sicily, on Wednesday after a week at sea. They had set sail near Alexandria, Egypt, according to Save the Children.

Agency spokeswoman Giovanna di Benedetto said on Saturday that as soon as the family of eight boarded, the traffickers threw a backpack containing the 10-year-old’s insulin overboard. She died during the trip.

Prime Minister Matteo Renzi mentioned the girl’s death in a speech aimed at reducing anti-immigrant sentiments after residents protested against homing refugees in Rome and Treviso.

“When a little girl dies, we can’t allow ourselves to renounce being human beings for the sake of a percentage point,” he said.