78 DEAD,HUNDREDS MISSING AFTER THE SINKING OF A RUSTY TRAWLER OFF GREECE’S. (PHOTOS).

- June 17, 2023

With at least 78 dead and hundreds more feared missing after the sinking of a rusty trawler off Greece’s Peloponnese peninsula Wednesday, questions are being asked if more could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

This is what we know so far:

– What survivors and critics say –

There are mounting questions as to whether the Greek coastguard should have intervened earlier to escort the ageing trawler, clearly packed with people, to safety.

Government spokesman Ilias Siakantaris said there were unconfirmed reports that up to 750 people had been on the boat. Relatives and activists have told AFP that there were at least 125 Syrians were on board.

But the coastguard spokesman suggested the boat might have capsized earlier if they had attempted to intervene.

“You cannot divert a boat with so many people on board by force unless there is cooperation,” he said.

Greece’s leftist former prime minister Alexis Tsipras said — after talking to survivors at the western port of Kalamata — that the migrants had actually “called for help”.

One video showed a survivor on Thursday telling Tsipras that the boat had capsized after the coastguard had attempted to drag it at excessive speed.

“So the Greek coastguard used a rope to drag you, and that is how you sank?” the leftist leader asked.

Government spokesman Siakantaris confirmed Friday that a rope had been thrown to “stabilise” the boat, but that the migrants had refused help, saying, “No help, go Italy.”

“There was never an attempt to tie the vessel, neither by us nor any other ship,” the coastguard spokesman said Friday.

Reber Hebun, a Syrian refugee based in Germany who travelled to Greece to find his 24-year-old brother Rukayan, passed on what his brother, who survived the disaster, had told him.

“The Greek coastguard did nothing to help them at the beginning, when they were close to them,” he told AFP.

“A commercial boat gave out water and food and everybody rushed (forward). The boat became unstable at this moment,” his brother told him.

More photos below.