The European Border Agency Frontex assured on Monday June 26 that Greece had refused an offer of air assistance from it on June 13, before the sinking of the migrant boat. At least 82 people have died, and hundreds have disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea.
The sinking of this overloaded boat raised many questions about the chain of custody. “Frontex offered additional air support to the Greek authorities on June 13 but received no response”confirmed the press service of Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency based in Warsaw, interviewed by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Earlier on the day of the tragedy, the Italian coordination center (MRCC) had ordered the Frontex plane to search for the fishing vessel at 08:33 GMT (10:33 in France). The latter was spotted at 09:47 GMT, according to Frontex. “The plane watched the fishing boat for ten minutes before being forced to return to base to refuel”says Frontex.
Ten days ago, Frontex had already reported that it had proposed to the Greeks to send a drone to patrol without delay above the Aegean Sea. Athens had, however, given instructions to deploy this drone on another rescue in southern Crete, where 80 people were in danger, according to Frontex.
Most dangerous migration route in the world
On the night of June 13 to 14, an old and overloaded trawler from Libya was shipwrecked off the coast of the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece, on the most dangerous migratory route in the world. The deadly shipwreck, presented as one of the most serious involving migrants in the Mediterranean, left at least 82 dead.
The World Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimate that between 400 and 750 passengers were on the trawler, including women and children.
Hundreds were believed to have come from Pakistan, mainly from the provinces of Punjab and Kashmir. According to a tally by the Greek authorities, among the survivors are 47 Syrians, 43 Egyptians, 12 Pakistanis and two Palestinians.