LA VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Nine crew members arrested for people smuggling after a boat sank off the Greek coast last week will be accused before the criminal court.
They will be accused of piloting the fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece on Wednesday leaving hundreds missing and presumed dead in one of the Mediterranean’s worst boat disasters. Greece said nine Egyptian nationals aged between 20 and 40 were arrested on suspicion of setting up a criminal organization, manslaughter by negligence, exposure to danger, and causing a shipwreck.
Greek authorities said 78 dead and 104 survivors – mainly from Syria, Afghanistan, Egypt, and Pakistan – were brought ashore after the overcrowded boat sank about 80km off the southern Greek town of Pylos, days after it set sail from Tobruk in Libya heading towards Italy. It is believed that the number of people aboard was somewhere between 400 and 750, according to various testimonies.
The boat was reportedly in distress since the morning of 13 June. The Hellenic Coast Guard announced a large-scale search and rescue operation on the morning of 14 June, after the boat capsized.
Greek authorities have been criticized for their failure to act more quickly. The Greek coast guard claimed that the boat’s occupants said they did not need any help, but NGOs insisted they received a number of calls for help.
– Foto Agenziafotogramma.it –
(ITALPRESS).
