UN says migrant boat capsizing off Greece 'horrific tragedy'

The UN Human Rights Office was among the agencies that on Friday condemned the "horrific tragedy" involving the capsized migrant boat, which sunk off the Greek coast on Wednesday, killing at least 78 passengers.

Rights office spokesman Jeremy Laurence expressed Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk's condolences to those who have lost loved ones in the incident.

"What happened on Wednesday underscores the need to investigate people smugglers and human traffickers and ensure they are brought to justice," Laurence said.

Up to 500 migrants who are believed to have been on board the boat remain missing, the UN said, including many women and children.

How did the boat capsize?

Nine of the surviving passengers were arrested and detained in the port city of Kalamata on Thursday evening. The Egyptian men, aged between 20 to 40, are accused of causing death through negligence, human trafficking and membership in a criminal organization.

The old fishing boat is believed to have taken off from Egypt, stopping at the Libyan coastal city of Tobruk on June 10 to pick up passengers.

Greek authorities cited survivors as saying they had paid $4,500 (approximately €4,110) each to be transported to Italy.

Greek authorities had said the passengers had repeatedly turned down their assistance when the boat encountered turbulences, insisting they wanted to go to Italy.

The exact circumstances surrounding the capsizing remain unclear. Italy is believed to have alerted Greek authorities to the boat, who then monitored it for 15 hours before it sank. Greek authorities overnight revised the death toll to 78 from 79.

Alarm Phone, an advocacy group that had been in communication with the boat, said passengers had pleaded for help on at least two occasions. The group added it alerted the Greek authorities hours before the boat sank.

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) said it welcomed the announcement of an independent investigation into the incident.

"It's very important that we understand what happened and why this tragedy was able to unfold," UNHCR spokesperson Louise Donovan told DW. "There is an obligation under maritime law that if a boat is in distress and regardless of the circumstances of the people who are on board, if it's an unseaworthy vessel, that every effort should be taken to rescue people before it results in the boat capsizing."

What is the latest on the search and rescue operation?

The Greek coast guard expanded the search area on Friday, with media reports suggesting it would formally wrap during the day, amid no chance of finding further survivors.

Other media reports suggested the 72-hour rescue operation could be further extended.

The boat is believed to have been crammed with between 500 and 750 passengers. Apart from the 78 drowned bodies found, some 104 survivors were also rescued. Most migrants hailed from Libya and Syria, a Hellenic Red Cross volunteer told the Reuters news agency.

The survivors were taken to a reception center north of Athents for registration, where they would be allowed to apply for asylum.

Eighteen-year-old Mohammed from Syria, one of the survivors, was reunited with his elder brother Fadi on Friday, who had traveled from the Netherlands to meet him.

"Thank God for your safety," Fadi said, repeatedly kissing his younger sibling on the head.

Calls for more regular migration channels

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights urged states "to open up more regular migration channels, enhance responsibility-sharing, ensure arrangements for the safe and timely disembarkation of all people rescued at sea," Laurence said.

He reiterated calls for establishing independent monitoring and oversight of migration-related policies and practices.

Judith Sunderland, Human Rights Watch's associate director for Europe and Central Asia, called for creating and expanding legal and safe channels for asylum-seekers.

Sunderland told DW on Friday immigrants must be allowed "to reach the countries of the EU without having to risk their lives on these incredibly dangerous journeys."

She called for increasing the resettlement of the millions of recognized refugees worldwide. She also called for increasing the possibility of applying for asylum before arriving in the EU via consulates and embassies.

"What instead we see is the EU focusing on sealing its borders, on pursuing deterrence measures that only make these journeys more expensive and more dangerous," Sunderland said.

The UNHCR's Donovan said restrictive migration policies lead people to make more dangerous attempts at entering Europe.

"I think we need to look at this holistically and to understand that restrictive border policies obviously lead people to take more risks and to take more dangerous journeys," Donovan said. 

rmt/sms (AP, dpa, Reuters)