A UK publication reported that Pakistani nationals were forced to stay below the deck by the crew, who mistreated them during the journey, as hundreds of Pakistanis are reportedly dead in a boat catastrophe off the coast of Greece.
Estimates of the number of passengers on the boat at the time of its sinking range from 400 to over 700, but it is certain that hundreds of them were from Pakistan, many of them from Azad Jammu Kashmir.
According to an account of what happened on the ship just before it sank, some people, mainly Pakistanis, were “condemned to the most dangerous part of the trawler” where they had a slim chance of surviving.
“The testimonies suggest women and children were effectively ‘locked up’ in the hold, ostensibly to be ‘protected’ by men on the overcrowded vessel,” the Guardian report said, adding that Pakistani nationals were mistreated “when they appeared in search of freshwater or tried to escape” from the hold.
According to the Guardian story, the condition on the boat was so dire that six people had already died after it ran out of fresh water before it sank, refuting the Greek authorities’ statements.
The publication reported that passengers were pleading for assistance a day before it sank, citing an activist who is Moroccan-Italian. She affirmed, “I can attest that these people were pleading for salvation from any authority.
At least 700 people were on board the trawler, which was reported to have been floating in the water for days after its engine failed.
The function of the coast guard was also questioned in the report. According to the Guardian, a government spokesman also stated that a rope had been thrown to “stabilize” the boat. “Of concern are claims that it overturned in the early hours of Wednesday because a rope was attached by coastguards, allegations rejected by Greek officials,” the newspaper added.
It apparently stated that “patrol boats and cargo ships had been shadowing the trawler since Tuesday afternoon” by quoting government authorities.
Meanwhile, Pakistani survivors have blamed Greek coastguards for the incident, saying the ship — carrying hundreds of people — was deliberately sunk and no rescue was provided, according to Geo News.
The video account of the victims exposed the inhuman attitude of Greece authorities in the last hours leading to the tragedy.
Moreover, an independent investigation reported by BBC that poked holes in the Greece authorities’ account of the incident.
An analysis of the movement of other ships in the area suggests that the boat remained stationary for at least seven hours before drowning.
Although the Greek authorities did not respond to BBC’s findings, they have insisted that the boat was on course to Italy and did not need rescuing.
