Pakistan says 350 nationals were on boat that sank off Greece

[June 23, 2023]  ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -At least 350 Pakistanis were on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece last week, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Friday.

The boat with a capacity of 400 people had over 700 people on board, he told the country's parliament, adding that a total of 281 Pakistani families had contacted the government to seek help.    

A undated handout photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants onboard a boat during a rescue operation, before their boat capsized on the open sea, off Greece, June 14, 2023. Hellenic Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo

Another 193 Pakistani families had been DNA tested to match with those who had died or gone missing in last week's shipwreck that is said to be one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years.

(Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Shivam Patel and Christina Fincher)

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