Greece boat tragedy: Names of 12 Pakistani survivors revealed

The names of 12 lucky Pakistanis have been revealed who survived the migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Greece.

The Foreign Office a day earlier confirmed that 12 Pakistanis had been found alive in the tragic accident while many Pakistani nationals are feared dead although the exact number has not yet been officially confirmed.

The survivors belong to Kotli Azad Kashmir, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Mandi Bahauddin, and Sialkot.

Talking to Geo News, the Pakistani diplomat said that the surviving Pakistanis have been identified as Muhammad Adnan Bashir of Kotli, Haseeb Rahman, Muhammad Hamza of Gujranwala, Zeeshan Sarwar, and Azmat Khan, and Usman Siddique of Gujarat.

Mohammad Sunny and Zahid Akbar of Sheikhupura, Mehtab Ali of Mandi Bahauddin, and Rana Hussain, Irfan Ahmed, and Imran Arain of Sialkot are also among the lucky survivors.

Pakistani authorities said that the bodies of those who died in the accident are unidentifiable, and DNA samples of the relatives have been taken to identify the bodies and the survivors have been contacted by their families.

According to the Pakistani diplomatic staff, the rescue operation for the missing persons in the boat accident has been halted.

On the other hand, more than 50 Pakistanis who are reported to be missing in the accident have not been found yet, among the missing people, 28 people belong to Bundal village of Khoi Ratta area of Azad Kashmir, 16 people belong to Gujranwala, 12 people went missing in the boat accident belong to Sialkot and 6 from Gujarat.

The families of the missing youths are overwhelmed with grief and according to the families.

As reported, the families of the missing persons have no idea where their children are, no one has contacted the government, and no FIR has been registered so far.

The preliminary investigation report of the boat accident has been handed over to the Pakistani authorities

The Greek government has provided the preliminary investigation report of the boat accident to Pakistani officials. 

According to the information, the ill-faith fishing boat left Benghazi in Libya for Italy on June 9.

The accident occurred on June 14 near Plas, Greece. Incidentally, the site of the accident is close to a five-kilometer-deep fishing area off the coast of Greece.

The owner of the sinking migrant boat is Egyptian, there were Pakistanis, Syrians, and Libyan nationals on board.

After the accident, Hellenic Coast Guard rescued 104 people including 12 Pakistanis.

PM Shehbaz constitutes a 4-member inquiry committee to ascertain facts of the Greece boat tragedy

On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a four-member committee to ascertain the facts of the recent Greece boat tragedy and directed law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to trace those involved in human smuggling.

In a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office said, the premier expressed grief at the incident and formed an inquiry committee to probe the matter.

The committee headed by National Police Bureau Director General Ehsan Sadiq, comprises Ministry of Foreign Affairs Additional Secretary (Africa) Javed Ahmed Umrani, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) DIG Sardar Zaheer Ahmad, and FIA Joint Secretary Faisal Nisar.

According to the PMO statement, the terms of reference (TORs) of the committee include ascertaining the facts of the Greece boat tragedy, identifying loopholes and lapses in the legal/enforcement mechanism in Pakistan that “exposed precious human lives to the vagaries of human trafficking”, and analyzing similar incidents in the past.