The survivors are to be taken to a refugee camp near Athens by Friday.
(Photo: dpa)
Athens/Kalamata After the sinking of a refugee boat southwest of Greece, there is no longer any hope of being able to rescue survivors. In total, more than 500 migrants could have died in the accident, only 104 survived, the authorities said on Thursday. The Coast Guard has only been able to recover 78 victims so far.
Nevertheless, the rescue work continued together with the Navy and Air Force, as state television showed.
Tragic scenes took place in the Greek port of Kalamata on Thursday morning. Many of the 104 surviving migrants searched for their relatives there. In desperation, they held cell phone photos of the victims in front of the helpers, mostly without success.
The rusty, 30 meter long fishing cutter seems to have dragged most of the victims down with it. In all, there may have been between 500 and 700 people on board, authorities said, citing interviews with survivors and estimates of the boat’s capacity.
There will be no certainty: the scene of the accident, around 50 nautical miles southwest of the Greek Peloponnese peninsula, is right above the Calypso low, at over 5,000 meters the deepest point in the Mediterranean.
Identify dead bodies using DNA samples
The survivors are to be taken to a refugee camp near Athens by Friday. According to the Coast Guard, most passengers come from Syria, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The recovered dead were brought to Athens on Thursday, where attempts are being made to identify the corpses using DNA samples, among other things.
Meanwhile, investigations into the cause of the accident continue: According to the state broadcaster ERT, eight survivors in Kalamata were arrested and questioned by the port police. They are considered suspected smugglers and organizers of the fatal journey, for which the migrants said they paid between 5,000 and 6,000 euros per person.
According to media reports, mass panic broke out on board when the engines of the old cutter failed. The overcrowded ship then lost its balance, capsized and sank immediately.
Survivors said many of the passengers could not swim, and few wore life jackets. Also, the people below deck could not have escaped to the outside so quickly. Among them were many women and up to 100 children, it said.
The Greek coast guard and also passing freighters had repeatedly offered help to the crew of the boat by radio, said a spokesman for the authority. However, the crew rejected the offer on the grounds that they wanted to reach Italy. Because the boat was in international waters, officials were only able to intervene when the cutter got into distress and capsized on Wednesday night.
People shocked at sea disaster
In Greece, people were shocked by one of the worst sea disasters in recent years. Internationally, however, the expressions of condolence were limited; On Thursday, Pope Francis published a letter of condolence, previously on Wednesday EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and UN chief António Guterres had shown themselves shocked.
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) took a position on Thursday afternoon: “We must not become numb in the face of this emergency, but must continue to work persistently to create legal migration routes and conclude migration agreements that respect human rights and the rule of law,” she said. If people came to Germany according to clear criteria, that would also destroy the smugglers’ business model.
A week ago, the EU states agreed on comprehensive reform plans in asylum policy. Asylum applications from migrants who come from countries of origin with a recognition rate of less than 20 percent are to be examined within twelve weeks at the EU’s external borders.
During this time, they want to oblige those seeking protection to stay in strictly controlled reception facilities. Those who have no chance of asylum should be sent back immediately. However, it is conceivable that the EU Parliament will still push through changes. It has a say in the reform.
More: The federal government is spending 27 billion euros on the refugee crisis this year