Global Courant
The “chronicle of the tragedy” unfolding in international territorial waters 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos, with 78 migrants dead so far, began to be written at noon on Tuesday.
The Peshkarexha was located as soon as it entered international waters, but Greece is responsible for search and rescue.
“We were looking at it to see where it was going, if they wanted help, what their goals were,” the operational sector of the Coast Guard told protothema.gr.
Later, at the behest of the Coast Guard, two passing merchant vessels contacted the fishing vessel. In the radio conversations of the gentlemen with the people in charge of the fatal ship, the traffickers, which are recorded and asked if they needed help, the answer they repeatedly gave was this: “We don’t need help. We want food, water and to go to Italy. Nothing else”.
The merchant ships were given food and water and then left.
FRONTEX also made several flights over the fishing vessel. A 40-meter vessel of the Coast Guard also approached the marine area, which put the fishing vessel under surveillance.
As the crew members of the Coast Guard vessel reported, in the late hours of the night and while there was a flood, the engine of the fishing vessel stopped working.
There was a commotion on the deck of the iron fishing vessel and within seconds it capsized, as described by the coast guard. According to estimates, with the panic caused when the engine stopped, the passengers suddenly went to one side of the boat, there was a sudden shift of weight and therefore it overturned.
As port officials reported to protothema.gr, since the last 2-3 years iron fishing vessels have been sailing from Tobruk to Italy. They transport 300, 400 or even 500 migrants at a time.
According to the information, the migrants – 104 of whom have been rescued – who were on board the fishing boat that sank in unclear circumstances until now, were from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria and Palestine, while on board the boat it is reported that there were 700 persons.
However, according to a Coast Guard estimate, based on the size of the ship, it could have carried hundreds of people, but not 700.
The same information says that the ship, which was launched from Tobruk, Libya, sailed for five days in good weather until it reached the point where it sank.
The migrants who were on the fishing boat did not know how to swim, while none of the rescued had brought a life jacket.
Global Courantl
