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2023 Messenia migrant boat disaster

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2023 Messenia migrant boat disaster
Image of the migrant boat taken shortly before capsizing
Date14 June 2023
Time0:40 am (EET)
Location50 mi (80 km) off the coast of Pylos, Greece
Deaths78+[1]
Missingaround 200[2]

On 14 June 2023, a fishing boat smuggling migrants sunk in the Ionian Sea off the coast of Pylos, Messenia; it was estimated to be carrying up to 400 refugees.[3][4] The search and rescue effort by Greek authorities rescued 104 survivors and recovered 78 bodies, with hundreds more missing.

Background

The Northern Africa to Italy sea route for migrants and refugees seeking to get to Europe has been declared the deadliest on Earth by the International Organization for Migration, which has recorded 21,000 deaths since 2014. Human smugglers crowd migrants into unseaworthy vessels, often in locked holds for days-long journeys. They head for Italy, across the sea from Libya, as it is closer to Western Europe than Greece.[5]

Since the First Libyan Civil War,[6] Libya has been one of the primary stopping points for people smuggling operations to Europe.[5] Libya's ongoing crisis, alongside instability in neighboring countries, has allowed a large human trafficking industry to develop moving migrants and refugees across the Mediterranean into Europe.[6]

These maritime smuggling routes into Europe have seen an increasing number of fatal accidents: 3,800 people died in 2022 while traversing migrant and refugee routes from the Middle East and North Africa, of whom 3,789 died on sea-based routes in and around the region.[7]

On 26 February 2023, at least 94 people died when a wooden boat from İzmir, Turkey sank off of Cutro in Southern Italy in the deadliest Mediterranean boat incident of 2023 up to that point.[5] In May 2023, the Greek government was condemned internationally following the release of video footage allegedly depicting the forceful expulsion of migrants who were abandoned at sea.[8][9]

Incident

Map of the eastern Mediterranean, showcasing the route taken by the Andrianna and where survivors were taken.[5]

The ship, named the Andrianna,[10] had departed from Tobruk, a town in Cyrenaica, Libya, south of the island of Crete, Greece on 10 June 2023.[10] The vessel carried an excessive number of people, well above its capacity;[9] according to Alarm Phone,[11] a European rescue-support charity who claimed to have received a distress call from the vessel, up to 750 people were aboard (though it wasn't clear if that was the same boat that sunk),[5] while the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that around 400 were. Ioannis Zafiropoulos, the deputy mayor of the Greek port city of Kalamata, stated that there were over 500.[12] The ship was a fishing boat[13] and was estimated to be around 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft) long.[14] The Andrianna was destined for Italy.[15]

On 13 June the Italian coast guard alerted Greek authorities and the European Union border protection agency, Frontex, of an oncoming vessel in distress.[5][11] The Italians, in particular, informed the Greeks of the peculiar movements of the vessel.[16] The Greek coast guard claimed that afterward, Frontex aircraft and two merchant ships detected the vessel approaching north at high speeds, prompting the dispatch of more aircraft and vessels. Offers for aid were made to the ship but were denied according to the Greek coast guard.[17]

In the afternoon, one of the merchant ships approached the Andrianna and offered it assistance, but the passengers refused it. Another merchant ship later did the same and received the same response. A Greek coast guard patrol approached the deck of the vessel in the evening, where they confirmed the presence of a large number of migrants.[5] The migrants again refused any aid, stating that they wished to continue to Italy. In all three instances, the migrants did state that they wanted food and water, which the Greek patrol ship and a Maltese-flagged merchant ship provided.[11] The Greek patrol later accompanied the vessel.[5]

At around 1:40 am (EEST) on 14 June the Greek coast guard learned that the Andrianna's engine had broken down.[5] After receiving a plea for aid, coast guard officers then approached the ship. They stated that they then “saw the boat take a right turn, then a sharp left, and then another right so big that it caused the vessel to capsize.” Around 10 to 15 minutes later, the Andrianna sunk, sending its passengers into the waves of the Ionian.[16] The ship sunk around 50 miles (80 km) off the coast of Pylos, Messenia, in the Peloponnese,[9] in an area around 13,000 to 17,000 feet (4,000 to 5,200 m) deep.[15][16] The Greek coast guard reported that no one on board was wearing life jackets.[9]

Search and rescue

Immediately following the sinking, the Greek coast guard and the military initiated a massive search and rescue operation.[16] The operation was complicated by strong winds in the area.[9] Survivors were transferred to Kalamata.[17]

After recovering 104 survivors, the Greek authorities stated that they expected to find no more,[18] leaving hundreds still missing.[9]

At least 78 passengers of the Andrianna have been confirmed dead, making it the deadliest shipwreck of 2023 in Greece.[9]

The majority of survivors — including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans, and Palestinians[18] — were men.[13] They said the smugglers had kept the women and children locked in the hold.[13]

According to the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), three individuals believed to be the traffickers were detained and interrogated at the central port authority in Kalamata.[9]

Aftermath

The Greek coast guard released aerial pictures showing the boat's overladen upper and lower decks hours before it sank.[19] A coastguard spokesperson stated that the boat had refused assistance because its destination was Italy.[19]

Alarm Phone, a support network for rescue operations, was contacted by people onboard late on Tuesday saying that the captain had abandoned the ship. The shifting of the weight within the vessel from people moving in distress caused the vessel to capsize. Greek officials reported that the boat's engine stopped and the vessel became unstable before capsizing at about 2 am on Wednesday morning.[19]

The Greek government announced three days of national mourning,[19] and Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou visited some of the survivors and conveyed her condolences.[17]

Survivors are temporarily sheltered in a bunker until more suitable accommodation is finalized. The Greek Goverment is making every effort to treat and accommodate the survivors.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Οργή και θλίψη, ενώ σβήνουν οι ελπίδες για άλλους επιζώντες" [Rage and grief, while hope fades for other survivors]. Efimerida ton Syntakton (in Greek). 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023. Στο μεταξύ οι έρευνες που συνεχίστηκαν αδιάκοπα όλο το προηγούμενο 24ωρο ήταν άκαρπες και ο επίσημος απολογισμός παραμένει 78 νεκροί και 104 διασωθέντες. [In the meantime, the searches that continued uninterrupted throughout the previous 24 hours were fruitless and the official tally remains 78 dead and 104 rescued.]
  2. ^ Smith, Helena; Henley, Jon (15 June 2023). "Guardian". Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 16 June 2023.
  3. ^ "Ναυάγιο στην Πύλο: «Δεν έχουμε ξαναζήσει τέτοια τραγωδία στη χώρα μας» see" [Shipwreck in Pylos: "We have never experienced such a tragedy in our country"]. Kathimerini. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  4. ^ "'Sudden' shift in weight caused migrant boat to sink, Greek coast guard says, as hundreds more feared dead". CNN. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i "At least 79 dead after overcrowded migrant vessel sinks off Greece; hundreds may be missing". AP NEWS. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  6. ^ a b Press, RENATA BRITO Associated (29 May 2023). "Rescue groups say Malta coordinated the return of migrants to Libya instead of saving them". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  7. ^ "Death toll in Greece refugee boat tragedy soars to 78". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  8. ^ Smith, Helena (19 May 2023). "Greek government under fire after video shows 'pushback' of asylum seekers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h "Hundreds missing in 'one of Greece's biggest migrant tragedies'". BBC News. 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b Brudeau, Cain (14 June 2023). "Dozens drown in latest European migrant boat disaster". Courthouse News Service. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Sands, Leo; Parker, Claire (14 June 2023). "At least 79 dead, hundreds missing in year's deadliest wreck off Greece". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  12. ^ Smith, Helena (14 June 2023). "At least 79 people drown as refugee boat sinks off Greece". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  13. ^ a b c "Dozens of migrants dead, fears for hundreds missing in Greece shipwreck". France 24. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  14. ^ Tagaris, Karolina; Prousalis, Stamos (14 June 2023). "At least 79 drown, hundreds missing in migrant shipwreck off Greece". Reuters. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  15. ^ a b Labropoulou, Chris Liakos, Catherine Nicholls, Elinda (14 June 2023). "At least 79 people drown after migrant boat sinks off Greek coast". CNN. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b c d Kitsantonis, Niki; Engelbrecht, Cora (14 June 2023). "At Least 79 Die as Boat Carrying Migrants Sinks Near Greece". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  17. ^ a b c "Greece migrants: Hundreds feared missing as boat sinks". BBC News. 14 June 2023. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  18. ^ a b "Greece finds no more survivors of migrant boat disaster with hundreds missing". NBC News. 15 June 2023. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d "Greece refugee shipwreck: rescuers scour sea for survivors". The Guardian. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
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