About 350 Pakistanis were on the overcrowded fishing boat that capsized off the coast of Greece last week, and many of them were reported missing, Pakistan’s interior minister said on Friday.
Pakistani Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan told National Assembly lawmakers that there were about 700 migrants on the boat when it sank off the coast of Greece on June 14.
Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued alive and only 82 bodies have been recovered so far.
The total number of people on the ship has not been officially confirmed.
“So far, 281 families have contacted the government to say that their children or relatives may be on the boat,” said the Pakistani minister.
Khan’s comments shocked lawmakers, who looked very saddened when the minister spoke. It was the first time a senior official had reported so many Pakistani nationals missing since the boat sank in Greece.
Authorities are collecting DNA samples from people who likely had relatives on the fishing grounds to help identify the bodies.
The government also launched an operation against people smugglers who organized the trip for the Pakistanis on the fishing boat. So far, police have arrested at least 17 people suspected of involvement in the case.
Authorities also said victims paid traffickers between $5,000 and $8,000 for the trip.
Greece has been widely criticized for allegedly failing to rescue the migrants before they sank in international waters.
Athens authorities say the passengers refused any assistance and insisted on continuing to Italy.
Nine Egyptian men suspected of being part of the ship’s crew are in police custody in Greece and are facing charges including participation in a criminal organization, murder and sinking the ship.
Pakistanis who believe they have lost relatives in the shipwreck are urging their citizens not to send their relatives abroad illegally.
Many of the missing migrants come from the country’s most populous eastern province, Punjab, and from remote towns in Kashmir, a Himalayan region that Pakistan and India are fighting over.
Pakistan is going through one of its worst economic crises, with inflation as high as 45% in recent months, and many young people are making dangerous journeys to Europe to find better jobs.
Source: DN
