Greece boat disaster leaves at least 79 dead and hundreds missing

June 15: At least 79 people have died and more than 100 have been rescued after their fishing boat sank off southern Greece.

But survivors have suggested as many as 750 people may have been packed onto the boat, with reports of 100 children in the hold. Greece says it is one of its biggest-ever migrant tragedies, and has declared three days of mourning.

Authorities say their offers of aid were refused but they are facing claims of not doing enough to help.

The EU's border agency Frontex said it had spotted the boat early on Tuesday afternoon and immediately told Greek and Italian authorities. The coastguard said later that no one on board was wearing life jackets. It said the Greek shipping ministry had made repeated contact with the boat and was told repeatedly it simply wanted to sail on to Italy.

Then on Wednesday, someone on the boat is said to have notified the Greek coastguard that the vessel's engine had malfunctioned. Shortly afterward, the boat capsized, taking only ten to fifteen minutes to sink completely. A search and rescue operation was triggered but complicated by strong winds.

They had been travelling for days, according to local media reports, which added that the boat had been approached by a Maltese cargo ship on Tuesday afternoon that supplied food and water.

Survivors spoke of as many as 500 to 750 people on board and regional health director Yiannis Karvelis warned of an unprecedented tragedy: "The number of the people on board was much higher than the capacity that should be allowed for this boat." One survivor told a hospital doctor in Kalamata that he had seen 100 children in the hold.

The nationalities of the victims have not yet been announced. Survivors have been taken to Kalamata, and many were treated in hospital for hypothermia or minor injuries.

Public broadcaster ERT said that three people suspected of being the traffickers had been taken to the central port authority in Kalamata and were being interrogated.

(BBC)