New findings on sunken migrant boat contradict Greek account

New revelations from local and international media contradict Greek authorities’ account of last week’s migrant boat accident off southwestern Greece, which led to the deaths of dozens of migrants and asylum seekers, including many children, with hundreds more missing.

Greece recovered three more bodies on Monday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 81 from the journey which started from Libya and was supposed to end in Italy. Only 104 people are known to have survived.

According to the log of the Greek Coast Guard boat, which was in the area, it was in contact with the migrant vessel as early as 2pm local time on Tuesday, June 13, many hours before its overnight sinking.

No action was taken because the vessel refused help, according to the initial statement of the coast guard from June 14. It claimed that two attempts by commercial ships to provide food and water to the vessel were also rejected.

Ilias Siakandaris, the spokesman of Greece’s caretaker government, repeated this initial line of argument, saying the vessel had refused help and wanted to continue its way to Italy.

However, on June 15, when main opposition SYRIZA party leader Alexis Tsipras visited Kalamata, where survivors of the shipwreck were being held. Some survivors told him that, in fact, a coast guard boat had thrown a rope to the migrant vessel.

Speaking to Daily Kathimerini on June 16, a coast guard officer whose name was not disclosed said they tried to tow the vessel with the help of a rope as it was dangerously overcrowded.

The same day, the coast guard said in a statement that they threw a rope to the vessel to check on conditions aboard the ship but maintained that the vessel refused the help and continued on its way.

But unfolding revelations continue to disprove the Greek authorities’ claims.

Facts kept hidden for days

News outlet Efsyn on Sunday reported that the Greek Coast Guard Command’s Search and Rescue Center was aware that the migrant boat was rocking dangerously due to overcrowding on all decks.

Despite a warning from the Faithful Warrior oil tanker, which earlier tried to help the boat, that the vibration of propellers could cause the overcrowded boat to have an accident, the coast guard approached the boat anyway.

Notably, the Greek Coast Guard failed to publicly disclose this until Friday, days after the accident.

Another Greek news outlet, news247, revealed that the migrant boat moved only a few miles after its encounter with the coast guard boat.

That is to say, it did not continue its way to Italy, contradicting claims by Greek authorities.

This argument was later confirmed by the BBC. The boat indeed was stable for hours before it sunk and was not moving towards Italy.

Furthermore, German broadcaster WDR, citing the testimonies of some survivors, argued that it was an effort by the Greek Coast Guard boat to tow the boat that led to the deadly incident.

The coast guard boat tried to tow the boat from Greek waters to Italian waters, it claimed.

The suspected smugglers of the scores of migrants on the boat are expected to answer manslaughter charges in a Greek court this week.

Lawyers for the nine suspected smugglers held by Greece, all from Egypt, sought and were approved a postponement of their arraignment hearing to Tuesday morning, the semi-official Athens News Agency said.