One of the deadliest incidents of the year occurred Wednesday in Greece as a fishing boat, carrying a large number of migrants desperate to reach Europe, capsized and sank. According to authorities, at least 79 people lost their lives, while many others are still unaccounted for.
A massive search-and-rescue operation has been launched by the coast guard, navy, merchant vessels, and aircraft to find the missing passengers. The operation is expected to continue overnight, with hopes of finding more survivors. The exact number of missing passengers is still unknown, but there are concerns that hundreds of people may have been on board when the boat sank far away from the shore, according to initial reports.
The Greek coast guard has released an aerial photograph of the distressed blue vessel, which shows numerous people crammed onto practically every inch of the boat’s deck. The vessel appears to be in a battered condition, emphasizing the plight of the migrants onboard during their attempt to find a better life elsewhere.
The caretaker prime minister of Greece, Ioannis Sarmas, has declared three days of national mourning for the victims of the migrant vessel sinking. In a statement, he expressed deep sorrow and condemned the ruthless smugglers who repeatedly put human lives at risk to exploit the migrants’ desperation for a better life. He also reiterated Greece’s determination to continue supporting refugees and called upon its European partners to share the responsibility and burden of the migrant crisis.
According to Nikos Alexiou, a coast guard spokesman who spoke to state ERT TV, it is difficult to accurately determine how many passengers were on board the capsized vessel. However, initial assessments suggest that the boat, which was approximately 25 to 30 meters (80 to 100 feet) long, capsized after the passengers suddenly moved to one side of the vessel. The overcrowding and unstable conditions may have contributed to the tragedy, which claimed dozens of lives and left many more unaccounted for.
Nikos Alexiou also noted that the outer deck of the vessel was overcrowded with people, and it is likely that the interior was also full of passengers. He suggested that the boat capsized after there was a sudden shift of weight among the people on board. The sheer number of passengers attempting the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean can often lead to accidents due to overcrowding and unstable conditions, as seen with this tragic incident.
According to a statement from the coast guard, its own ships and merchant vessels tried to provide assistance to the capsized boat. However, their efforts were repeatedly rebuffed by the people on board, who insisted on continuing their journey to Italy. The statement also mentioned that the trawler suffered an engine malfunction around 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday before rapidly listing from side to side and eventually capsizing less than an hour later. The tragic incident highlights the dangers of unsafe and unregulated migrant passages across the Mediterranean, which often lead to terrible consequences.
The statement from the coast guard also stated that the ship sank within 10 to 15 minutes of capsizing, leaving many passengers trapped inside the vessel. The swift sinking of the boat underscores the urgent need for prompt and effective rescue operations, which can prevent further loss of life.
Ioannis Zafiropoulos, the deputy mayor of the southern port city of Kalamata, where survivors of the tragic incident were taken, has provided new information regarding the number of passengers on board. While the exact number of passengers on the capsized boat is still unclear, Zafiropoulos suggested that there were over 500 people on board. This puts the potential number of missing passengers even higher than previously estimated. The situation is worrying, and the rescuers are doing their best to find and assist survivors.
The authorities have confirmed that 104 people were rescued in the aftermath of the capsizing of the migrant vessel. The sinking occurred in international waters near the southern Peloponnese peninsula, located around 75 kilometers (45 miles) from Greece. The area where the boat sank is uncomfortably close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, with depths reaching up to 17,000 feet (5,200 meters). The tricky underwater conditions could hinder efforts to locate the sunken vessel and recover the bodies of missing passengers. The rescue operation remains ongoing, but the chances of finding additional survivors grow slimmer with each passing hour.
Twenty-five survivors, whose ages ranged from 16 to 49, have been hospitalized for hypothermia or fever as they recovered from the traumatic event. At the port of Kalamata, nearly 70 survivors were given shelter in a large warehouse, where they were provided with warm blankets and sleeping bags to rest. Paramedics have set up tents outside the facility to provide first aid assistance to anyone who requires medical attention. The incident highlights the importance of providing humanitarian aid to migrants who undertake perilous journeys to escape poverty, war, or persecution in their homelands.
Katerina Tsata, who heads a Red Cross volunteer group in Kalamata, has informed the media that the survivors of the tragic incident received psychological support upon their arrival. She also added that the passengers experienced severe physical and emotional trauma, considering the harrowing incident. Constantinos Vlachonikolos, a volunteer who participated in the rescue operations, mentioned that the majority of the survivors were male.
The psychological and physical impact of such incidents on the migrants underscores the need for compassionate and holistic responses that can assist victims in processing their grief and trauma.
Constantinos Vlachonikolos mentioned that the survivors appeared worn out and tired, which is natural after the traumatic event they had encountered. Rescuers who retrieved the people from the water indicated that most of the passengers who were in the sea could not swim and were holding onto debris to stay afloat in the water.
According to the coast guard, none of the passengers had life jackets, making their rescue even more challenging. The lack of adequate safety measures underscores the perilous nature of such journeys, which hold significant risks for the lives of desperate migrants.
According to the Greek coast guard, the bodies of 79 deceased passengers have been retrieved as of now. Among the survivors, there were 30 individuals from Egypt, ten from Pakistan, 35 from Syria, and two from Palestine. The boat, which was headed towards Italy, is believed to have started its journey from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya.
Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011 following a NATO-backed uprising that led to the fall and assassination of the longtime authoritarian ruler Moammar Gadhafi. The country’s unstable condition has contributed to the rise of human trafficking networks that exploit vulnerable migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean into Europe.
The instability in Libya has made it a fertile ground for human traffickers who have thrived on exploiting vulnerable migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. The route from North Africa to Italy through the central Mediterranean has been identified as the most dangerous in the world by the United Nations’ migration agency, known as IOM.
The agency has documented over 21,000 deaths and disappearances in that region alone since 2014. The alarming number of casualties highlights the urgent need for comprehensive and coordinated international actions to address the root causes of the problem and manage the humanitarian crisis at hand.
The smugglers who operate in the North African region often use unseaworthy boats and overcapacity accommodation to pack as many migrants as possible into their vessels. Sometimes, people are even forced to stay inside locked holds, leading to unspeakable levels of danger and distress. These boats are then used for journeys across the Mediterranean that can take several days, putting migrants’ lives at further risk. The migrants’ expected destination is often Italy, which is significantly closer to them than Greece and lies directly across the Mediterranean from Libya and Tunisia.
Moreover, many African migrants hope to reach other Western European countries, which they believe will provide better opportunities for employment and integration. It is a complex humanitarian crisis that demands immediate attention, as it continues to claim innocent lives on a massive scale every day.
This year has already witnessed some of the most severe cases of migrant boat sinking in the Mediterranean. In February this year, a wooden vessel sank off Cutro, southern Italy, killing at least 94 people, the highest death toll recorded so far.
The Italian coast guard had alerted Greek authorities and the Frontex – the European Unions’ border protection agency, on Tuesday, regarding the vessel’s approach.
Initial reports from the IOM suggested that the capsized vessel may have had up to 400 passengers on board. However, a network of activists claimed they received a distress call from a boat in the same region with at least 750 passengers. It is not yet clear if this was the same vessel that capsized. The situation emphasizes the critical need for humanitarian support to tackle the problem of human trafficking networks and their victims and mitigate the risks and casualties associated with such journeys.
Frontex aircraft and two merchant ships, in response to an initial alert from the Italian coastguard, had detected the capsized boat heading at high speed towards the north, as confirmed by the Greek coastguard. However, despite repeated efforts to offer help, all such efforts were declined by the vessel. Later on, in the afternoon, a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided the passengers with food and supplies. Still, the passengers refused any further aid, according to an official statement from the coastguard.
Later that evening, a coastguard boat arrived at the scene and confirmed the presence of a large number of migrants on the deck. However, they refused any assistance and insisted they wanted to carry on with their journey to Italy. The situation underlines the challenging predicament of maritime rescue agents in providing aid to victims of unregulated and perilous maritime voyages, who often experience trauma and mistrust due to the mistreatment and suspicion they’ve faced at the hands of smugglers.
The coast guard boat that arrived at the scene accompanied the migrant vessel and eventually led a concerted rescue operation via all the ships that were in the surrounding area. The situation underscores the need for coordinated and effective international action to address the migration crisis and put a stop to the exploitation of migrants by human traffickers.
According to Alarm Phone, a network of activists that sets up a hotline for migrants in trouble, they received a call from another boat in distress on Tuesday afternoon, which was in the same general area of the capsized vessel. However, it is still unclear if this was the same ship that had sunk. It further emphasizes the dangers and challenges that activists and government agencies face in providing timely assistance to those who need it.
Alarm Phone contacted Greek authorities and Frontex after receiving calls from migrants who reported that the vessel was overcrowded, and that the captain had abandoned the ship and escaped on a small boat. They also requested supplies of food and water, which they received from a merchant ship. Alarm Phone has expressed its concern that hundreds of people may have drowned in the ferry disaster.
The worst shipwreck ever recorded in the Mediterranean took place on April 18, 2015, when a crowded fishing boat collided with a freighter while trying to seek refuge in Libya. The wreck claimed the lives of over 1,000 people, with only 28 people surviving. The situation emphasizes the urgent need for comprehensive and concerted action to resolve the problems and put an end to human trafficking networks that cause countless deaths and misery for thousands of vulnerable migrants.