A fishing boat carrying hundreds of migrants capsized and sank on Wednesday, June 13, resulting in the loss of at least 78 lives.
A comprehensive search-and-rescue operation involving the coast guard, navy, merchant vessels, a plane, and a helicopter was launched off the coast of Greece.
At least 104 people were successfully rescued after the boat sank in international waters about 45 miles southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese peninsula. The exact number of passengers still unaccounted for remains uncertain, but initial reports suggest that hundreds may have been aboard.
A spokesman for the Coast Guard told reporters that it appeared that the 100-foot vessel, overcrowded with passengers, capsized after people suddenly moved to one side of the ship. Officials said the engines broke down around 1:40 a.m. and within an hour the ship started to sway from side to side before capsizing.
On Tuesday, the Italian coast guard had alerted Greek authorities and the European Union’s border protection agency, Frontex, about the approaching vessel. Frontex aircraft and merchant ships spotted the boat traveling north at high speed. Despite repeated offers, the boat refused aid.
Later, a coast guard patrol boat reached the vessel and confirmed the presence of numerous migrants on the deck, but they again declined assistance and expressed their desire to continue toward Italy.
Four survivors were hospitalized due to symptoms of hypothermia, while others were provided with dry clothes and medical attention at designated areas set up by ambulance services and the United Nations Refugee Agency in the port of Kalamata.
The boat was believed to be headed for Italy and is thought to have departed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya. Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has experienced significant instability, making it a key departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe via smugglers’ boats.
