Greece boat disaster: More than 500 migrants presumed drowned
Migrants rescued from a boat that sank off the south coast of Greece carrying hundreds of people on June 14 were placed inside a warehouse in Kalamata.
More than 500 migrants are presumed drowned on Saturday after a boat carrying them capsized off the Greek coast.
A fishing boat carrying up to 750 people went down 50 nautical miles off Pylos in southern Greece, on Wednesday.
The hopes for finding the survivors are grim three days after the incident.
Rescuers pulled 104 survivors from the water and later recovered 78 bodies, but have not located any more since late Wednesday.
The survivors are all boys and men from Egypt, Pakistan, Syria, and the Palestinian territories.
The Greek coast guard said the search-and-rescue operation would continue beyond the standard 72 hours.
Up to 500 people are still missing from a migrant boat, the UN human rights office says.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, Greek officials arrested nine Egyptian men who had survived the sinking.
The officials have charged them with causing the wreck and illegally transferring migrants.
A joint statement was issued on Friday by two United Nations agencies — the International Organization for Migration and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees — stating that the boat was believed to be carrying anywhere from 400 to 750 people, and that “hundreds remain missing, and feared dead.”
The U.N. statement said that the boat had been in distress since Tuesday, but that a search and rescue operation was not initiated until it capsized on Wednesday.
Large numbers of women and children were among those missing in the horrific tragedy that left 78 people dead, said spokesman Jeremy Laurence.
The appalling loss of life underscored the need to bring people smugglers to justice, Laurence added.
