ALBAWABA - An investigative report released by SIRAJ —Syrian Investigative Reporting for Accountability Journalism, Lighthouse Reports, Der Spiegel, and EL PAÍS accused Greece of being responsible for migrants' boat capsize disaster.
The report has revealed the real reason behind the migrants boat tragedy on June 13 with 750 people on board. Only 104 people were saved from the boat incident; however, all women and children abroad were killed. Till this moment, the bodies of 500 passengers were not recaptured.
Reaching the migrants boat
According to the investigation which was released after an interview with one of the survivors, he said on June 8, a man who works for smugglers in Libya asked people to enter a refrigerator truck then he took them near the shore when they were asked to road the boat which carried 750 people from various nationalities.
The boat was called "bulldozer" and the boat kicked off at 5 a.m. with most on board from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.
After three days in the sea, the boat was supposed to be reaching its final destination but some things went wrong causing a delay and they had to change the place which led to severe thirst leading to the death of six people.
(Photo by Louisa GOULIAMAKI / AFP)
Migrants boat tragedy
According to migrants who were on the overcrowded boat, a surveillance plane of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, on June 13 detected the migrants boat and told the Greek authorities about it.
Later on, The Alarm Phone initiative received a call from people at sea stating that they were suffering a difficult situation and they were asked to share their GPS. Then, the Greek authorities launched an investigative helicopter to check on the situation on the boat and the migrants inside.
According to another person who survived the tragedy, the migrants boat captain lost the way and he was believed dead before they called for help.
Then, an oil vessel get closer to the migrants boat and threw some food and water to the people. A while after, the Greek Coast Guard reached the migtants boat and tied a robe to pull it when it began to shake in all ways and eventually leading to its capsized.
Ahmad said: "When the boat overturned completely, he climbed to the surface, and according to his words, the Coast Guard forces were watching him and the others and making a quick turn around them, which created high sea waves - and they stayed in this state for 10 minutes."
On the other hand, 16 people who survived confirmed the story told by Ahmad, while, four others claimed that Coast Guard was trying to push the boat towards Italy moments before it capsize.
