I don't think it was even that it was rich people.
We recently had the mystery disappearance of Nicola Bulley in the UK that got huge media attention because everyone was playing detective; we've had similar media frenzy over the Chilean miners, the Thai footballers in the cave, the RAF lad who disappeared on a night out (it's thought he climbed into an industrial bin)...
The common thread is that everyone can speculate on whether the subjects will survive or not. 'Migrant boats sinks' stories are focused on too many nameless people and the outcome is too easily predicted for a media frenzy and workplace discussions. People love a bit of speculation.
Was that the one off Argentina? Had forgotten about that - could've put it in my post! More evidence it's the uncertainty that drives public engagement.
It's not going to get that frenzy as this happens almost every week now. They had their time in the spotlight after that kid washed up in Turkey and it was in the front page, but people can't keep being invested emotionally when it's carried on for another decade.
The western powers don't care about migrants, they're busy dropping bombs and sanctions in their home countries to stop any revolution. "These children will die in the name of God, amén."