Search operations for missing migrants continued on Saturday

Search operations continued on Saturday in the sea region 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos, southwestern Peloponnese, where a fishing boat carrying migrants sunk on Wednesday, killing 78 people.

A Greek navy frigate, another three ships sailing by and a Hellenic Coast Guard helicopter are taking part in the search-and-rescue operations.

A total of 104 people has been rescued so far, while media reports claim the total number of migrants onboard the vessel ranged between 400-750, including some 100 women and children locked in the hold.

On Friday, 71 survivors were transferred from the port city of Kalamata to a migrants’ facility in Malakassa, north Attica. Some 21 people are still hospitalized at Kalamata general hospital.

Nine Egyptian nationals, all survivors of the shipwreck, were arrested on Thursday for their alleged involvement in human trafficking, of whom 8 are detained at the Kalamata police station, and one is hospitalized at Kalamata general hospital under guard.

All the defendants will be led before a prosecutor on Monday morning, facing charges of forming a criminal organization related to the illegal trafficking of irregular immigrants, causing a shipwreck through negligence and endangering human life.

Meanwhile, the Greek Migration & Asylum Ministry’s Hellenic ‘Disaster Victims Identification Team’ has been set up at the ‘Keranis’ building at Thivon Avenue, to provide further assistance in the effort to identify the victims of the migrants’ shipwreck, the ministry said on Friday.

To that effect, a telephone center is also going live on Saturday, between the hours of 09:00 and 19:00 every day of the week, supporting English, Arabic, Pashto and Urdu.

The Keranis offices can also receive victims’ relatives for medical checks and for submitting DNA samples, it was noted.

More information is available on 213-1386-000, and at dvi@astynomia.gr