Global Courant
KALAMATA, Greece –
Rescuers transferred the bodies of dead migrants to refrigerated trucks as a major search continued on Thursday for possible survivors of a sea disaster in southern Greece. Hundreds of missing people are still feared.
At least 78 bodies have been recovered after a fishing boat full of migrants trying to get from Libya to Italy capsized and sank in deep waters off the Greek coast a day earlier.
Rescue workers rescued 104 passengers, including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians, mostly men, including eight minors, but authorities fear hundreds more are trapped below decks. If confirmed, it would make the tragedy one of the worst ever recorded in the Central Mediterranean.
Authorities have revised the confirmed death toll to 79 following an overnight count of the bodies.
“The survivors are in a very difficult situation. Right now they are in shock,” Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations Refugee Organization delegation, told The Associated Press after meeting the rescued migrants in a storage shed in the southern port of Kalamata.
“They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they’re okay, and they keep asking about the missing persons. Many have friends and relatives who are not listed.”
Greece declared three days of mourning and politicians suspended campaigning for general elections on June 25. A Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and pledged to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and nearby countries to further crack down on migrant smugglers.
But human rights groups claim the crackdown means migrants and refugees are being forced to take longer and more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.
The search operation south of the Greek region of Peloponnese failed to find any bodies or survivors last night or early Thursday.
“The chances of finding (more survivors) are minimal,” retired Greek Coast Guard Admiral Nikos Spanos told state television ERT.
“We have seen old fishing boats like this from Libya before: they are about 30 meters long and can carry 600 to 700 people when fully loaded. But they are not seaworthy at all. Simply put, they float coffins.”
Coast Guard experts believe the boat may have sunk after running out of fuel or suffering engine trouble, with movements of passengers inside the ship causing a list and eventually capsizing.
An aerial photo of the ship before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed onto the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.
“We are witnessing one of the greatest tragedies in the Mediterranean, and the figures announced by the authorities are devastating,” said Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek branch of IOM, the UN migration agency.
The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the Central Mediterranean since 2014.
The Greek Coast Guard said it had been notified by Italian authorities of the trawler’s presence in international waters. It said attempts by its own ships and merchant ships to help the boat were repeatedly rejected, with people on board insisting they wanted to continue on to Italy.
Twenty-nine of the survivors in southern Greece remain in hospital, mostly with symptoms of hypothermia, while eight have been questioned by Coast Guard investigators. Government officials said the survivors would be transferred later Thursday or Friday to a migrant reception center near Athens.
The bodies of the dead migrants have been transferred to a morgue outside Athens, where DNA samples and facial photos will be taken to begin the identification process. The embassies of the affected countries will help, health officials said.
The site is close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, where depths of up to 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) can hamper any attempt to locate a sunken ship.
The IOM said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were on board. A network of activists said it had received a distress call from a boat in the same area that passengers said had 750 people on board.
The deadliest shipwreck in living memory occurred on April 18, 2015, when an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants off the coast of Libya collided with a cargo ship trying to come to its rescue. Only 28 people survived. Forensic experts concluded that there were originally 1,100 people on board.
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Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writer Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
