Tons of feared lifeless after refugee boat capsizes in Greece | Refugee Information

Rescue ships set out on Thursday to seek for a whole bunch of refugees and migrants feared lifeless after their overcrowded fishing boat sank. covered And drowned making an attempt to achieve Europe.

A minimum of 79 folks have been confirmed lifeless within the catastrophe.

Rescue groups rescued 104 passengers from a ship that capsized in deep water off the coast of Greece on Wednesday morning whereas making an attempt to journey from Libya to Italy.

Authorities worry a whole bunch extra – together with ladies and kids – could also be trapped under deck.

If confirmed, it will make the tragedy one of many worst recorded within the Central Mediterranean.

“Potentialities to search out.” [more survivors] A minimum of there are,” retired Greek Coast Guard Admiral Nikos Spanos informed state-run ERT tv.

The Worldwide Group for Migration estimated the aircraft was carrying 700 to 750 folks, together with no less than 40 kids, primarily based on interviews with survivors. Save the Youngsters put the quantity increased, at about 100 kids.

Stories counsel the ship sank about 80 kilometers (50 mi) off the southern coastal metropolis of Pylos.

Refugee activists, NGOs that rescue refugees, some European politicians and Pope Francis have been amongst those that shared their grief and anger over the catastrophe.

The Vatican mentioned the Pope was “deeply saddened” and provided “heartfelt prayers for the numerous migrants who’ve died, for his or her family members and for all those that are traumatized by this tragedy”.

‘Ought to be a wake-up name for EU governments’

Aerial pictures launched by the Greek coast guard present ten folks on the higher and decrease decks of the ship, some with weapons, hours earlier than it sank.

Alarmphone, which runs a trans-European community supporting rescue operations, mentioned it obtained an alert from Greece late Tuesday from folks on board the aircraft in misery.

It mentioned it had alerted Greek authorities and spoken to folks on board who appealed for assist, and that the captain escaped on a small boat.

Earlier than capsizing and sinking round 2 a.m. Wednesday, the aircraft’s engine shut down and it began rolling backward and forward, authorities officers mentioned.

Of the survivors nonetheless being transported to the port metropolis of Kalamata, most have been males, authorities mentioned.

Al Jazeera’s John Psaropoulos, reporting from Kalamata, mentioned docs had handled a number of survivors, lots of whom had signs of “near-death”.

“They suffered from a kind of pneumonia that happens when the lungs are partially full of water,” he mentioned. “Some have been despatched again to the warehouse the place others are left behind.

As Greece declared three days of mourning, the our bodies of the victims have been taken to a cemetery close to Athens for DNA testing. The Coast Guard says the search operation will proceed so long as wanted.

“[European Union] Member states have gone to extraordinary lengths to dam all avenues for youngsters and their households in search of security in Europe. Typically their solely choice is to make the perilous journey by boat,” mentioned Daniel Gorivan, Senior Advocacy Advisor at Save the Youngsters.

“The truth that individuals are dying within the Mediterranean must be a wake-up name for EU governments,” he warned.

Authorities sources mentioned the possibilities of recovering the sunken aircraft, which had departed from the Libyan port of Tobruk, have been distant. The worldwide waters the place the incident occurred are one of many deepest areas of the Mediterranean.

Impartial refugee activist Nawal Sufi mentioned in a Fb publish that she was contacted by the migrants on board the aircraft early Tuesday, and was involved with them as of 11 p.m. (20:00 GMT).

“The entire time they requested me what they need to do and I saved telling them that Greek assist would come. On this final name, the person I used to be speaking to informed me plainly: ‘I feel this can be our final night time alive,’ he wrote.

Greece is among the essential routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Center East, Asia and Africa.

Underneath a conservative authorities in energy till final month, Greece has taken a tricky stance on migration, constructing fenced camps and rising border controls.

The nation at the moment has a caretaker authorities, which is awaiting elections on June 25.

Libya, which has had little stability or safety since a NATO-backed coup in 2011, is a key launching level for folks in search of to achieve Europe by sea, its people-smuggling networks, significantly army gangs. run by those that management coastal areas.

The United Nations has registered greater than 20,000 deaths and disappearances within the central Mediterranean since 2014, making it probably the most harmful migrant crossing on the planet.