The UN on Friday called for swift investigations and urgent measures to prevent further tragedies such as the sinking of a fishing boat with migrants off the coast of Greece, which could have caused hundreds of deaths.
“It is clear that the current approach in the Mediterranean is not working,” acknowledged the director of the IOM Emergency Department, Federico Soda.
In a joint statement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Soda said the Mediterranean “remains the world’s most dangerous migration route, with the highest mortality rate.”
States must agree to close gaps in search and rescue, rapid disembarkation and the implementation of regular and safe migration routes, he insisted.
The shipwreck occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, 47 nautical miles (87 kilometers) from Pylos, in the Ionian Sea, with a boat carrying some 750 people, according to survivors.
Since Wednesday, the rescue teams have saved 104 people and recovered 78 bodies, during an operation that should end this Friday, given the impossibility of finding more survivors.
The Greek coast guard said none of the migrants on board the fishing boat were equipped with life jackets.
The vessel had been located on Tuesday afternoon by a Frontex plane, the European agency for border and coastal security.
According to the Greek port authorities, the occupants of the fishing boat, which had sailed from Libya to Italy, “refused to receive help.”
The IOM said it feared “hundreds of people” had drowned in “one of the most devastating tragedies in the Mediterranean in a decade.”
UNHCR Protection Officer, Gillian Triggs, defended the need for collective work in the face of increased refugee and migrant movements in the Mediterranean.
Specifically, he said that greater coordination, solidarity and sharing of responsibilities among all the Mediterranean States is essential.
“This includes an agreement on a regional mechanism for the disembarkation and redistribution of people arriving by sea, which we continue to advocate,” he said.
“There needs to be a thorough investigation into the events that unfolded during this tragedy. And I hope we can find answers and learn from the experience,” said UNHCR spokesman Jeremy Laurence.
“What happened on Wednesday underscores the need to investigate smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they are brought to justice,” he added.
In addition to smugglers and traffickers, the European agency Frontex has been accused, along with Greece and other European countries, of not doing enough to prevent these tragedies.
In addition to the port police patrol boats, a Greek Navy frigate, an Air Force plane and a helicopter participated in the rescue operation, as well as six ships that were sailing in that area.
Source: TSF
