Terrible claim in migrant disaster in Greece

Greek Coast Guard crews were claimed to have tried to push the fishing boat, which has killed 78 people so far, into Italian territorial waters, off the Peloponnese peninsula.

The leader of the Greek Radical Left Alliance (SYRIZA), Alexis Tsipras, yesterday visited the port of Kalamata, where the rescued migrants were taken, to obtain information about the incident. Speaking to reporters after the visit, Tsipras said the migrants who survived the incident conveyed these allegations to him.

Stating that he is not the person authorized to verify these allegations, Tsipras said: “The questions I ask are of key importance. Politically, it is about our values, the policy of Frontex and the EU, as well as the policy that our country has followed for the last four years.”

Tsipras stressed that the authorities must answer questions such as “What are the protocols that allow more than 700 people to continue their route instead of trying to save them when they see that they are on a ship about to sink.”

REJECTION OF ATHENS

The Coast Guard crews, which were criticized for not responding in time, said offers of assistance were refused.

On June 14, 47 nautical miles from Navarino, in the Greek Peloponnese, a fishing boat carrying irregular migrants capsized in international waters. In the incident, 78 people lost their lives, 104 people were rescued and brought to the port of Kalamata.

The Greek Coast Guard announced that 47 of the rescued migrants were Syrian citizens, 43 Egyptians, 12 Pakistanis and 2 Palestinians.

According to Alarm Phone, a nonprofit organization, there were around 700 people on board. Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing. Experts are concerned that the death toll will rise. (AA)