Hundreds of migrants are feared missing after a fishing vessel they were on sank off Greece on its way from Libya to Italy, triggering a massive search operation in the Mediterranean.
Interim Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Sarmas has declared a three-day national mourning period after the shipwreck tragedy that resulted in the loss of at least 79 lives — one of the worst ever migrant disasters recorded.
Hundreds of people are thought to have been on board when the boat went down Wednesday, although there were conflicting information about the precise figure.
Charity Alarm Phone, which operates a trans-European network supporting rescue operations, earlier said it received alerts from people on board a ship in distress, that as many as 750 people were on board the vessel. Other reports say more than 500 people were on board.
Dropping flares
Rescuers saved 104 passengers — including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians — and recovered 79 bodies. And the search went on early Thursday for more, with aircraft dropping flares to help search teams.
“It's one of the biggest (such) operations ever in the Mediterranean,” Greek coast guard spokesperson Nikos Alexiou told state ERT TV.
Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of the southern port city of Kalamata, where survivors were taken, said his information indicated there were “more than 500 people” on board.
Greece's coast guard said it was notified by Italian authorities of the trawler's presence in international waters. It said in a statement that efforts by its own ships and merchant vessels to assist the boat were repeatedly rebuffed, with people on board insisting they wanted to continue to Italy.
Aerial photograph
An aerial photograph of the vessel released by the coast guard showed scores of people covering practically every inch of deck. Greek media reports, which said the ship had been at sea for least two days, voiced fears that women and children may have been trapped in the hold.
The 25- to 30-metre boat is believed to have left the Tobruk area in Libya, which was plunged into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
The instability allowed migrant smugglers to make Libya one of the main departure points for people seeks a better life in Europe.
Migration experts linked the sinking with the European Union's failure to provide safe immigration alternatives for people fleeing conflict or hardship in the Middle East and Africa.
The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.
