Pakistani passengers allegedly 'forced below deck' in Greece tragedy
According to survivor testimonies, Pakistanis were singled out and forced below deck on the trawler that sank off Greece last Wednesday (14 June) with hundreds of passengers feared dead, reports The Guardian.
"With about 500 people still feared missing, new accounts from survivors indicate that women and children were forced to travel in the hold and that certain nationalities were condemned to the most dangerous part of the trawler," the reports says.
The report adds, "According to leaked testimonies told by survivors to coastguards, Pakistanis were forced below deck, with other nationalities allowed on the top deck, where they had a far greater chance of surviving a capsize."
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The testimonies suggest that women and children were practically locked in the hold and mistreated when they were looking for water or trying to escape.
"Conditions on the boat were so bleak that even before it sank there had already been six deaths after it ran out of fresh water," the Guardian report mentions.
Nawal Soufi, a Moroccan-Italian social worker and activist said, "I can testify that these people were asking to be saved by any authority." However, her account contradicts the Greek government, which claims that the passengers requested no help as they wanted to go to Italy.
There have been claims that the boat sank because a rope was attached by coastguards, allegations rejected by Greek officials.
Pakistan's Embassy in Athens said it had identified 12 of its nationals rescued by the coast guard.
The distressed boat had set off from Libya en route to Italy when it was spotted by the Greek Coast Guard. Questions have arisen about whether the Greek coast guard should have done more, as it was in contact with and close to the vessel in its final hours.
