Greece migrant tragedy: Survivor accounts say coastguard rope toppled
boat
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[June 30, 2023]
By Karolina Tagaris, Lefteris Papadimas
MALAKASA/KALAMATA, Greece (Reuters) -Survivors of a boat disaster that
likely killed hundreds of migrants near Greece have given accounts of
traffickers in North Africa cramming them into a clapped-out fishing
trawler. They recounted hellish conditions above and below deck, with no
food or water.
Some also said the tragic end, when it came, was precipitated by the
actions of the Greek coastguard. They have told judicial authorities of
a doomed attempt to tow the overloaded trawler that caused the vessel to
capsize in the early hours of June 14.
A disastrous coastguard towing attempt was recounted in six of the nine
statements from survivors submitted to Greek judicial officials
investigating the causes of the tragedy, according to evidence seen by
Reuters.
One Syrian survivor said he and other migrants on board the Adriana,
which had broken down en route to Italy, screamed "Stop!" after a Greek
coastguard vessel attached a rope to the bow of the trawler and began to
pull it while picking up speed.
The migrant boat tilted left and right and then it turned upside down,
he added.
Three other witnesses said they didn't know what caused the Adriana to
capsize. Reuters is not publishing the names of the nine survivors who
gave the accounts, which haven't been made public.
The statements of the six witnesses clash with the public statements
given by the Greek coastguard and government, which have said no attempt
was made to tow the boat and that it overturned when the coastguard was
about 70 metres away.
The shipping ministry, which oversees the coastguard, told Reuters it
couldn't comment on issues that were the subject of a confidential and
ongoing investigation by prosecutors. Greek prosecutors are forbidden by
law from commenting on live inquiries.
The nine survivors submitted their accounts on June 17-18 to
investigators conducting a preliminary probe into the disaster. Α group
of suspected traffickers, arrested on June 15 on charges including
manslaughter, migrant smuggling and causing a shipwreck, have been
jailed pending a fuller investigation that could culminate in a trial.
They deny wrongdoing.
The towing episode was also recounted by two other survivors who were
separately interviewed by Reuters and asked not to be identified for
fear of reprisals from Greek authorities. One of them, who gave his name
only as Mohamed, described the terrifying moments when the Adriana
overturned, which he said came when the coastguard started tugging the
boat.
"They quickly pulled us and the boat capsized. It moved to the right, to
the left, to the right and it capsized. People started to fall on each
other," he said. "People were on top of each other, people were
screaming, people were drowning each other. It was night time and there
were waves. It was scary."
On June 15 a coastguard spokesperson, responding to local media reports
that cited some survivors who said the trawler was towed, publicly
denied that a coastguard vessel had attached a rope to the Adriana at
any time.
A day later, the coastguard amended its account: it said its vessel had
attached a rope to the Adriana to help it draw nearer to communicate.
The coastguard denied it had subsequently tried to tow the trawler,
saying it had kept its distance.
Nikos Spanos, a retired admiral in the Greek coastguard, told Reuters it
was unlikely that a coastguard vessel would have attempted such a
dangerous manoeuvre as towing the stricken trawler.
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Migrants rest in a shelter, following a
rescue operation, after their boat capsized on the open sea, in
Kalamata, Greece, June 14, 2023. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas/File Photo
"Its (the coastguard's) aim was to establish a better contact to
help the vessel and assess the situation. This is my understanding.
Because if they had tried to tow it or anything else, it would have
been too risky and this wouldn't have been the right way to do it."
'NO HELP. GO ITALY'
When the Adriana capsized and sank 47 miles southwest of Pylos, in
international waters within Greece's search-and-rescue jurisdiction,
it was carrying between 400 and 750 migrants mostly from Syria,
Egypt and Pakistan, the U.N. refugee agency says.
A total of 104 survivors have been found but rescuers say it's
unlikely anyone else will be recovered, dead or alive, in one of the
of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean.
The coastguard ship's log was also submitted to the judicial
authorities and details two instances two hours apart when the
coastguard vessel approached the Adriana, according to the evidence.
At 11:40 p.m. on June 13 the vessel approached the trawler, which
had a malfunctioning engine, and tied a rope to the boat to allow it
to draw closer and talk to those on board to assess the situation
and if they needed help, the log said.
People on board shouted "No help" and "Go Italy" and untied the
rope, according to the log which said the Adriana's engine was then
restarted and it headed west.
Then at 1:40 a.m., the coastguard vessel was instructed by its
operation centre to return to the trawler to inspect its condition
after the Adriana had stopped moving.
The coastguard vessel approached to a distance of about 70 metres
from the Adriana and heard a lot of shouting, and in under seven
minutes the trawler had capsized, according to the log.
See a timeline of the tragedy
$55 EXTRA FOR 'SAFER' DECK
The Adriana set off from a beach in or near the Libyan town of
Tobruk around June 10, according to survivors. Before they boarded,
the traffickers took away their belongings and threw out bottles of
drinking water to make room for more people, survivor Mohamed told
Reuters.
Each traveller only had 40 cm of space, a Syrian migrant told
judicial authorities, according to the evidence.
All 11 survivors said they paid between $4,500 to $6,000 for the
journey, and the smugglers told them they would reach Italy in three
days. Three survivors told authorities they paid anywhere from 50 to
200 euros ($55-220) extra for places on the outer deck, considered
safer.
They were among thousands of people trying to get to southern Europe
this year by setting off in boats from North Africa. More than
50,000 "irregular border" crossings of the Central Mediterranean,
most of which begin in Tunisia and Libya, were detected in the first
five months of 2023, up 160% from a year ago, according to EU border
agency data.
A week after the tragedy near Greece, more than 30 migrants were
feared dead after a dinghy headed for Spain's Canary Islands sank.
(Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou and Angeliki Koutantou in
Athens, Jonathan Saul in London and Riham Alkoussa in Berlin;
Editing by Rachel Armstrong and Pravin Char)
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