Athens: At least 79 migrants drowned early on Wednesday and hundreds more were feared dead or missing after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, in one of Europe’s deadliest shipping disasters.
As a painstaking search for survivors continued, a European rescue support charity said it believed around 750 people were on board the 20 to 30-metre-long vessel, while the Unit-ed Nations’ (UN) migration agency cited an estimate of up to 400.
Greek authorities said it was too soon to speculate on the total number.
Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. Most cross over to Greek islands from nearby Turkey.
But since the previous conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis introduced tougher surveillance at the country’s migrant camps, increasing numbers have chosen to make a longer, more dangerous journey from Turkey to Italy via Greece.
Greek state broadcaster ERT said the boat that sank was en route for Italy, having set sail from the Libyan town of Tobruk, which lies south of the island of Crete. Greek authorities did not confirm the vessel’s departure port.
Alarm Phone, which operates a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, said it received alerts from people on board a ship in distress off Greece late on Tuesday, but subsequently lost contact.
“According to the people, there were 750 people on board … We now hear reports of a shipwreck and fear they are true,” it said on Twitter. –Agencies
