Migrant Tragedies at Sea - And Still they Come

"In the afternoon, a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided it with food and supplies, while the [passengers] refused any further assistance."

"[It was impossible to accurately estimate the number of passengers. It appeared that the 25- to 30-meter [80- to 100-foot] vessel capsized after people abruptly moved to one side]."

"The outer deck was full of people, and we presume that the interior [of the vessel] would also have been full."

"It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized."

Coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou 

 

"The last time we spoke was eight days ago, and [my wife] told me that she was getting ready to get on the boat."

"She had paid $5,000 [to smugglers]. And then we all know what happened."

Kassem Abu Zeed, 34-year-old Syrian refugee living in Hamburg

Hellenic Coast Guard via AP

A fishing boat capsized on Wednesday and sank off the Greek coast, carrying migrants determined to reach Europe. First count is 79 people dead and hundreds missing in what is considered to be the worst drowning disaster of migrants this year. The vessel had been spotted and was reported. The Italian coast guard alerted Greek authorities and the European Union border protection agency, Frontex on Tuesday of the presence and approach of a migrant-carrying ship.

Following the alert, Frontex aircraft and two merchant ships spotted the boat as it headed north at  high speed. Additional aircraft and ships were sent to the area. Repeated calls to the vessel of offers of assistance were dismissed by those aboard the ship. The coast guard then followed the ship as it neared the coast, eventually to watch in helpless dismay as the ship sank in mere minutes. One of the rescued passengers informed them that the below hold had held over a hundred children.

Associated Press

A vast search-and-rescue operation ensued and would continue overnight, involving coast guard, navy and merchant vessels and aircraft. How many passengers might be trapped in the vessel or could still be in the water was unknown, but initial reports suggested that hundreds may have been on board. The vessel was judged to have a tight capacity of 500 people, and it was thought that the number of people on it when it capsized exceeded that cap by at least 250 additional passengers.

Nine of those rescued have been placed under arrest, initially suspected as traffickers. Someone made the decision to spurn all offers of assistance and it could not have been the passengers. Those in authority from the ship detained to respond to questions over details of the ship's passage and its passengers will have much to answer for. According to Greek authorities, 104 people were rescued following the sinking overnight in international waters, 75 km southwest of Greece's Peloponese peninsula.

The oceanic area where the sinking took place is close to the deepest area of the Mediterranean; depths of such magnitude that could hamper efforts to locate a sunken metal vessel. At the southern port of Kalamata, some 70 exhausted survivors were bedded down in sleeping bags and blankets in an immense warehouse. Outside the structure, paramedics set up tents for first aid requirements. The migrants were also offered psychological support.

Among the survivors were 30 people from Egypt, ten from Pakistan, 35 from Syria and 2 Palestinians. The Greek coast guard spoke of having recovered 79 bodies.

"Those smugglers were supposed to only have 500 on the boat and now we hear there were 750."

"What is this? [Five of his relatives were on board the boat]. Are they cattle or humans?"

"How can they do this?"

Mohamed Abdi Marwan, who spoke by phone from Kobani

It appears that the nine survivors arrested on suspicion of being part of the smuggling ring that had arranged the voyage, are all Egyptian nationals. The shop had originally departed from an Egyptian port heading for the area of Tobruk in Libya where the migrants were awaiting pick-up. Bound for Italy, the boat is believed to have sailed from Tobruk, one of the main departure points for smuggler's boats carrying people attempting to reach Europe.