ISLAMABAD: There were at least 209 Pakistani “victims” on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, data shared with Reuters by a Pakistani investigative agency on Thursday showed.
The data shared by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said of the 209, 28 were from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, adding that DNA samples from 201 families had been gathered by officials to help Greece identify those missing.
It was not immediately clear on what basis the agency had identified them as victims, with the official toll from the accident still at 82 and survivors at 104, of which 12 are Pakistanis. Hundreds are believed to have been on board the vessel.
The official death toll from the accident still stands at 82 and the number of survivors at 104, of whom 12 were Pakistanis.
“An investigation to verify this is underway,” FIA Islamabad Zone Director Rana Abdul Jabbar told Reuters.
The FIA has been tasked by the government with handling investigations into the tragedy.
Hundreds of people from different countries are believed to have been on board the vessel, in what is seen as the worst sea disaster in years for the region.
The government is yet to officially confirm how many of its citizens were on the boat, but kick-started a DNA sampling effort to help Greece identify those who died.
The data shared by the FIA showed that 181 people were from Pakistan and 28 from Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Officials gathered the DNA samples from 201 families.
Witness accounts suggested that between 400 and 750 people had crammed onto the 20- to 30 metre-long (65- to 100-foot) fishing boat which then capsized and sank early on June 14 about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern coastal town of Pylos.
