One survivor from Syria, whom CNN is identifying as Rami, described how a Greek coast guard vessel approached the trawler multiple times to try to attach a rope to tow the ship, with disastrous results. Hellenic Coast Guard/ReutersĬNN has interviewed multiple survivors of the shipwreck and their relatives, all of whom have wished to remain anonymous for security reasons and the fear of retribution from authorities in both Greece and at home. Only 104 people have been rescued alive.Ī photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants onboard the boat, before it capsized in the early hours of June 14. This boat was carrying up to 750 Pakistani, Syrian, Egyptian and Palestinian refugees and migrants. Rights groups allege the tragedy is both further evidence and a result of a new pattern in illegal pushbacks of migrant boats to other nations’ waters, with deadly consequences. They also call into question the Greek coast guard’s version of events, suggesting more lives could have been saved, and may even point to fault on the part of Greek authorities. With hundreds of people still missing after the overloaded vessel capsized in the Mediterranean on June 14, the testimonies of those who were onboard paint a picture of chaos and desperation. “You’d swim and move floating bodies out of your way.” “I can still hear the voice of a woman calling out for help,” one survivor of the migrant boat disaster off the coast of Greece told CNN. Some were screaming, many began to recite their final prayers. In the darkness, they grabbed onto whatever they could to stay afloat, pushing each other underwater in a frantic fight for survival. The hull of the fishing trawler lifted out of the water as it sank, catapulting people from the top deck into the black sea below.
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