Survivors of a tragic migrant shipwreck in southern Greece that occurred three months ago have taken legal action against authorities, alleging a failure to respond adequately to rescue passengers before their vessel capsized in international waters. The incident, which took place in mid-June, is believed to have resulted in the entrapment and loss of hundreds of migrants when a modified fishing trawler sank south of Greece.
Throughout a portion of the vessel’s journey from Libya to Italy, the Greek coast guard had been monitoring it. Tragically, only 104 individuals, all male, were rescued from the sea, while the bodies of 82 victims, including only one woman, were recovered. The remainder, including women and children, disappeared in one of the Mediterranean’s deepest regions, where depths reach approximately 4,000 meters (13,000 feet), making vessel and victim recovery nearly impossible.
Many survivors challenge the official account that claims the coast guard repeatedly offered assistance that was rejected, asserting instead that a mishandled attempt was made to tow the vessel to safety shortly before it capsized and sank.
On behalf of a group of 40 survivors, a lawsuit was filed against “all parties responsible” at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, on Wednesday. The plaintiffs contend that the coast guard did not promptly respond “to rescue the passengers on board the obviously unseaworthy and overloaded fishing vessel,” as stated in a release by three volunteer organizations composed of lawyers and migrant rights groups supporting the case.
The lawyers involved in the lawsuit assert that they are pursuing “the attribution of criminal responsibility for the acts and omissions by the Greek authorities.” This legal action underscores the gravity of the situation and the survivors’ quest for accountability in the aftermath of this tragic shipwreck.
