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After the sinking of a migrant boat off Greece, on the night of Tuesday June 13 to Wednesday June 14, the official toll is still 78 dead on Thursday. The first testimonies cast doubt on the intervention of the Greek coastguards.
The sinking of a migrant boat off Greece, on the night of Tuesday June 13 to Wednesday June 14, left 78 dead according to the official report. The ship, an old fishing boat, was overload. Some testimonies mention more than 700 people on board. The ship had left Libya six days earlier to reach Italy. It’s towards 1h40Wednesday, that its engine broke down. The Greek coastguards were then nearby, on surveillance. They saw the boat capsize 20 minutes later.
A tow evoked by the survivors
What happened between the breakdown and the sinking? The first testimonies are troubling. “Survivors tell us that the boat capsized while undergoing a maneuver where it was pulled by the Hellenic Coast Guard. They tell us that it was pulled not towards the Greek coasts, but outside the Greek sea rescue zone“, reports Vincent Cochetelfrom UNHCR Western and Central Mediterranean. A towing that has never been mentioned by the Greek authorities. According to European border police, who flew over the boat, the migrants never asked for help before they ran aground.