A large migrant boat that sank off the coast of Greece is believed to have contained approximately 100 children, in what will likely rate as one of the worst migrant tragedies in the Mediterranean in recent years.
A survivor of the catastrophe told medical personnel that he saw 100 children in the hold of the former fishing vessel, which sank in the early hours of Wednesday morning in the Ionian Sea off the southern coast of Greece.
“The fishing vessel was 25 to 30 meters in length. “We assume the interior was just as crowded as the exterior,” Nikolaos Alexiou, a coastguard spokesman, said on Greek television.
To maintain control over their human cargo, smugglers sometimes lock individuals in the hold of boats.
When the boat’s engine failed en route from the Libyan port of Tobruk to Italy, asylum seekers reportedly refused assistance from Greek authorities.
The confirmed death toll from the disaster is 79, but authorities estimate that as many as 750 people were on board and predict that the number of fatalities will increase dramatically.
Thursday, rescuers combed the area where the boat sank, approximately 50 miles from the coastal town of Pylos.
Approximately one hundred survivors, predominantly males from Syria, Pakistan, and Egypt, were brought to shore.
The victims’ remains were moved to a cemetery near Athens for DNA testing.
Save the Children issued the following statement: “According to initial testimonies from survivors, 100 children were in the hold, with the death toll expected to increase.”
A British man suspects that some of his family members are among the missing in the aftermath of the disaster.
Aftab Khan, from Wolverhampton, reported to Sky News in the port of Kalamata that three of his relations were aboard the vessel.
One has been located alive, but the other two are still missing.
“We do not currently know where they are. We are simply investigating,” he stated.
Greek authorities reported that migrants on the fishing boat repeatedly refused assistance from a coastguard vessel that was shadowing the vessel, stating that they wanted to reach Italy.
Mr. Alexiou stated, “When confronted with such a circumstance,… you must proceed with extreme caution.”
“You cannot carry out a violent diversion on such a vessel with so many people on board… without some sort of cooperation.”
As a result of sinking in such deep water, officials deemed the possibilities of raising the boat to be remote.
Greece has Become ‘Europe’s Bulwark
It is believed that the disaster is the deadliest in Greek waters in several years.
In February of this year, nearly 100 people perished when their ship collided with boulders off the coast of Calabria, in the extreme south of Italy.
Alarm Phone, a volunteer organization that supports rescue operations, stated that migrants have valid reasons for attempting to reach Italy.
“Because people on the move are aware of the horrific and systematic pushback practices carried out by the Greek government, practices that are sanctioned by the EU,” they explained.
“Greece has become ‘Europe’s shield,’ as Ursula von der Leyen, the former president of the European Commission, once remarked,” they added.
Since 2014, approximately 20,000 migrants and refugees have perished in the central Mediterranean, making it the most perilous migratory crossing in the world, according to the United Nations. The catastrophe has prompted three days of mourning in Greece.
