Accident off Greece’s coast: Frontex: Athens ignored the offer of help before the boat accident

disaster off the coast of Greece
Frontex: Athens ignored offer of help before boat accident

06/26/2023 10:54 p.m

Hundreds of people are still missing after an overloaded fishing boat capsized off the Peloponnese peninsula on June 14. The EU border protection agency is now accusing Greek authorities of refusing support for monitoring the boat.

According to the European border protection agency Frontex, the Greek authorities ignored an offer of help from the EU agency shortly before the fatal refugee accident off the coast of Greece almost two weeks ago. On the day before the accident, Frontex “offered additional air support to the Greek authorities, but received no reply,” the Warsaw-based agency’s press office said when asked by the AFP news agency.

The ailing and overloaded fishing boat had started in Libya towards Europe and capsized on the night of June 14 off the Peloponnese peninsula at one of the lowest points in the Mediterranean after the engine had previously failed.

82 bodies have been recovered so far. According to official information, 104 people were saved. According to survivors, hundreds of people were on board, including women and children who were accommodated in the hold.

Dealing with the accident had raised a number of questions. After the deadly disaster, the Greek coast guard stated that the boat crew had not asked for help. After contacting Greece, they even refused help several times and emphasized that the boat wanted to continue to Italy.

Drone was probably sent to Crete

As Frontex has now announced, the Italian control center for the coordination of sea rescue (MRCC) had already instructed the Frontex aircraft at 10.33 a.m. (CEST) the day before the accident to search for the fishing boat. According to Frontex, it was sighted at 11:47 a.m. “The plane observed the fishing boat for ten minutes before returning to base to refuel,” Frontex said.

Frontex also offered the Greek authorities to send a drone to observe the Aegean Sea, it said. However, they instructed Frontex to use the drone in another rescue operation south of the Mediterranean island of Crete.

Along with Italy and Spain, Greece is one of the main arrival countries for tens of thousands of people from Africa and the Middle East who want to go to Europe. Last month, the Greek government came under international criticism after video footage showed the violent rejection of refugees at sea.