Christian refugees have revealed how they linked arms to form a 'human chain' in a desperate bid to stop Muslim migrants throwing them into the sea after an argument about religion. A group of 15 men were arrested on suspicion of 'multiple aggravated murder motivated by religious hate'.last week after 12 Christians from Ghana and Nigeria were allegedly thrown off a rubber dinghy into the Mediterranean Sea. Survivors from the boat, made up of 105 migrants from diverse religions and ethnicities, have now claimed the men tried to throw other Christians off the side of the vessel after an argument about religion - but were prevented because they huddled together to create a human chain. Scroll down for video . A Christian migrant told how he and others formed a 'human chain' to stop Muslim men who were allegedly trying to throw them overboard. Pictured: A migrant looks on after disembarking from a tug boat in Trapani . Fifteen men were arrested on suspicion of 'multiple aggravated murder motivated by religious hate'.last week after 12 Christian men from Ghana and Nigeria were allegedly thrown into the Mediterranean Sea . Yeboah, from Ghana, told police in Palmero that he boarded a dinghy in Libya heading to Sicily last Saturday and said the men threw three of his friends and six others into the water. He said: ‘About a day and a half into the crossing, at a certain point some Muslims started to rail against us Christians just because we practiced a different religion. 'Many said that they should throw us into the sea. After the threats we found ourselves in open sea and not long after they started to throw some Christians in the sea.’ He added: 'They tried to throw me and the other Christians still on board as well but they didn't manage to because we held onto the boat and clung onto each other', according to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. 'We resisted for an hour and only stopped when the rescue boat arrived.’ Another survivor Augustin told the newspaper that one of the alleged killers was bitten on his foot by one of the people he had thrown overboard, which helped police identify him. He said: ‘On Sunday evening spontaneously, the people that spoke French began to rage against the Ghanaians and the Nigerians. The men were allegedly killed more than a day into the journey, when an argument started about religion. Pictured: Migrants are transferred to holding centres after landing in Augusta's port, near Siracusa, Sicily . 'I don’t know why maybe because there were too many of us on board. One of us understood what they were saying that they wanted to throw us into the sea. 'Soon afterwards they threw three Nigerians and six Ghanaians into the sea, after desperate attempts by each one not to be thrown overboard.' Augustin added that each victim was beaten first, and that he saw each one drown because every time someone was thrown overboard the driver stopped the dingy. The 15 migrants arrested over the attack on their arrival in Palermo are from the Ivory Coast, Senegal, Mali and Guinea Bissau. The police statement said their motive for the attack was that the victims 'professed the Christian faith while the aggressors were Muslim.' The revelation about last week's incident follows news than more than 700 migrants are feared dead after a boat heading for Malta sank in the Mediterranean this weekend. A rescue operation coordinated by the Italian coast guard involving 18 ships is still underway in the hopes of rescuing more people from the midnight sinking off the Libyan coast, 120 miles south of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
Boat travelling from Libya to Sicily when 12 Christians thrown overboard .
Police arrested Muslim migrants for murder 'motivated by religious hate'
Survivors said they clung to each other to stop men trying to drown them .