along with migrant The dilapidated blue fishing boat filled all available slots halfway between Libya and Italy when the engine died overnight.
“This is one of the largest operations (of its kind) ever carried out in the Mediterranean,” a spokesman for the group said. Greek Coast Guard, Nikos Alexiou, national television station ERT TV. “We won’t stop looking.”
Boat He staggered violently, It was flooded and killed. Less than 15 minutes later, it sank into one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean, off the coast of greekHundreds of people are believed to be on board at the time of Wednesday’s incident, but authorities did not have a specific number.
Rescuers saved 104 passengers – including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghanis and Palestinians – and 79 bodies were recovered. The search operation continued into the early hours of Thursday, with planes dropping flares to help rescue teams.
“We are witnessing the greatest tragedy of the mediterraneanThe figures released by the authorities are devastating,” said Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek division of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations’ migration agency.
The shipwreck could be one of the worst Never before recorded on the dreaded Central Mediterranean Flyway, the deadliest in the world.
Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of the southern port city of Kalamata, said his information indicated there were “over 500 people” on board and survivors were being transferred there.
“This situation reinforces the urgency for States to take concrete and comprehensive action to save life at sea and reduce dangerous navigation by expanding access to safe and legal migration,” Rocco added.
Thirty survivors, ranging in age from 16 to 49, were hospitalized with hypothermia or fever.
The boat, 25 to 30 meters in length, is believed to have left the Tobruk area. Libya was plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Gaddafi.Unstable trafficker making the country one of the main starting points for those looking for a better life in Europe.
go to eimmigration expert involve shipwreck The EU cannot offer safe alternatives for those fleeing conflict or suffering in the Middle East and Africa.
Since 2014, the IOM has documented more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean.
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson said the bloc had a “collective moral responsibility” to dismantle migrant smuggling networks.
Lowes Greek Coast Guard They said Italian authorities notified them of the trawler’s presence on the high seas. Efforts by its own ships and merchant ships to assist the ship were repeatedly rejected, the department explained in a statement, while the passenger insisted it wanted to continue its journey to Italy.
A Aerial photography of scattered ships Coast Guard photos show dozens of people occupying nearly every inch of the deck. Greek media reported that the ship had been at sea for at least two days, and women and children were feared to be trapped in the cabin.
FR
“The best way to keep immigrants safe is to avoid these disastrous journeys and invest in legal pathways,” he tweeted.