At least 79 people drowned on Wednesday morning and dozens were missing after a boat full of migrants capsized off the coast of Greece in the country’s worst shipwreck this year, the coast guard said.
A European non-governmental rescue organization said it believed around 750 people were on board. A spokesman for Greece’s interim government said Greek authorities could not confirm reports that there were between 700 and 750 people on board. Ilias SiakantharisFor the state broadcaster ERT.
According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). TwitterInitial reports indicated that up to 400 people were on board.
Greek officials say 104 people have been rescued so far, but it is unclear how many were on board when the ship sank.
“We are concerned that the death toll will rise,” said an official at the Greek Navy Ministry, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The boat was spotted by EU border agency Frontex on Tuesday night in international waters about 80 kilometers southwest of the town of Pylos on the Peloponnese coast in southern Greece.
A Coast Guard vessel approached and assisted the boat, which was heading towards Italy. The Coast Guard said those on board “refused to seek help and reinforced their will to continue the voyage.”
The boat then capsized and sank, prompting a search and rescue operation that was complicated by strong winds, pan-Arab broadcaster Al-Jazeera reported.
Greece’s state broadcaster ERT said the boat left from the Libyan city of Tobruk, south of the Greek island of Crete, and most of the passengers were young men in their 20s.
Greek authorities did not immediately confirm the port of departure, but a shipping ministry official said most of those on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. The survivors were taken to Kalamata.
Greece is one of the main entry routes into the EU for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
Most ships go to the Greek islands from Turkey, but a growing number are making the long and dangerous journey from Turkey to Italy via Greece – an increase since the conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis took steps to make it harder. Refugees enter.
This year, around 72,000 refugees and migrants have landed in Europe’s so-called frontline countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus), according to United Nations data, the vast majority in Italy. Nearly a thousand people have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, according to the UN.
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