Greek migrant boat disaster may be 'worst ever tragedy' in Mediterranean sea, EU commissioner says
CNN —
The sinking of a packed migrant boat off the coast of Greece may be “the worst tragedy ever” in the Mediterranean sea, according to the EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
Dozens of people were killed and hundreds more left missing when the boat, traveling from the coastal city of Tobruk in Libya to Italy, capsized off the coast of Greece earlier this week. The true toll of the disaster is yet to become clear.
“We don’t have all information yet on what has happened but it seems like this is the worst ever tragedy we’ve seen in the Mediterranean,” she told a press conference in Brussels on Friday.
The tragedy has shone a spotlight on the EU refugee crisis in which every year, tens of thousands of migrants fleeing war, persecution, climate change and poverty risk treacherous routes to Europe.
Johansson condemned the role of “smugglers” who put people on the boats. “They are not sending them to Europe, they are sending them to death. This is what they’re doing and it’s absolutely necessary to prevent it,” she said.
“Unfortunately, we have seen this coming because since the start of the year, there was a new modus operandi with these fishing boats leaving from the eastern part of Libya… and we’ve seen an increase of 600% of these departures this year,” she added, stressing the need to find “different ways to fight the smugglers and save lives.”
“When it comes to fighting the smugglers, we can’t rely on only one way to do that. We have to use intelligence – we have to use common police investigations together with countries of origin, with countries of transit, with countries of departure,” she said.
Other global bodies such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) called for “urgent and decisive action” to prevent further deaths in the Mediterranean and emphasized “the duty to rescue people in distress at sea without delay.”
Denial from authorities
Greek authorities have faced criticism for how the disaster was handled.
On Friday, they denied claims that the boat had capsized after the coast guard attempted to tow it to shore.
Authorities had initially said the coast guard kept its distance but their assistance “had been declined” after they threw a rope to the vessel to “stabilize and check if it needed help.”
Speaking to Greek national broadcaster ERT, government spokesperson Ilias Siakanderis said the coast guard arrived two hours before the boat capsized after its engine broke down and there had been “no connection” between the two.
“The engine broke down at 1:40 a.m. and at 2:00 a.m. it sank – therefore there can be no connection between (the coast guard approaching the boat and the time of its sinking),” he told ERT.
“A rope was used only to give provisions by the two merchant ships. A rope, not a mooring rope, was also used when the coast guard approached,” he added. “Those on board took the rope for a few minutes, then threw it in the sea and continued their journey.”
“It was a rope thrown in order to approach, stabilize, and check if they needed help – they refused… and continued their journey.”
Tarek Aldroobi, who had three relatives on board, told CNN that they had seen Greek authorities towing the vessel with ropes, but says they were tied in the “wrong places” – which caused it to capsize.
“Their boat was in a good condition and the Greek navy tried towing them to the beach but the ropes were tied in the wrong places,” Aldroobi said. “When the Greek navy tried pulling them it caused the boat to capsize.”
CNN has reached out to Greek authorities regarding the allegations.
Desperate search
A huge search and rescue operation took place, with rescue workers managing to save some people. Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis and Palestinians were among those saved.
Just over 100 people were rescued and at least 78 people died while some reports put the number of those aboard at up to 750.
Relatives of those on board are now desperately searching for survivors.
Ayman Abu Mahmoud, a spokesperson of Horan Free League, the biggest media activism group in the southwestern Syrian city of Deraa, told CNN that one of the survivors told him the boat “malfunctioned” and Greek guards were “trying to drag the boat to safety with a rope.”
“When they were dragging, the boat leaned on its side and the disaster happened,” Abu Mahmoud said.
“The coastal guard boat drove away for 3 kilometers after the drowning happened and those who were able to swim that distance made it,” he said, quoting a survivor who gave him an account of what happened.
Source: CNN
