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Breaking news, video captures the moment 160-foot ‘007’ superyacht sinks in greece.

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Sunken but not stirred.

Footage captured the calamitous moment that a massive superyacht named “007” sank — with five passengers inside — in Greece

The maritime disaster occurred Friday night after the 160-foot vessel, which reportedly sails under a British flag but is owned by a Swiss businessman, experienced a GPS malfunction off Kythos Island, SWNS reported. This reportedly prompted the captain to bring it closer to shore than was advisable.

As a result, the James Bond-themed luxury boat hit the rocks, and began taking on water with five passengers inside.

“In trying not to be sunk, he sailed closer to shore, in less than 10 meters depth — and that’s how the ship got to that position,” explained a boat owner who witnessed the catastrophe.

Accompanying footage, uploaded to YouTube, shows the swanky vessel, which sports a helipad, lying half-sunken on its side around 50 feet from the nearby Kolona Beach.

Thankfully, all five passengers were rescued and transported to safety before the “007” sank. “No people were hurt,” described the aforementioned eyewitness. “The coastguard was immediately aware and sent help in the night.”

Rescuers also erected an anti-pollution perimeter in the area, although there was reportedly “no diesel leakage or damage to the scenery,” the bystander said.

Local authorities will launch a probe into the sinking of the “007,” which was delivered in 2006 by the Bodrum-based shipyard Aegean Yacht, but whose owner remains unknown.

Along with a helipad, the superyacht reportedly boasts five cabins, including a master suite, and can reportedly sleep ten people.

This isn’t the first time a luxury vessel has visited Davy Jones’ locker of late. Last month, heart-pounding footage emerged of a 130-foot superyacht capsizing and sinking stern-first into the water off the Italian coast.

In February, a Ukrainian man was arrested for partially sinking his Russian tycoon boss’s $7.7 million luxury super yacht in Spain in protest over the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.

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At least 78 dead and dozens feared missing after fishing boat sinks off Greece

Updated on: June 14, 2023 / 8:19 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A fishing boat carrying migrants capsized and sank off the coast of Greece on Wednesday, authorities said, leaving at least 78 people dead and many dozens feared missing in one of the worst disasters of its kind this year.

Coast guard, navy and merchant vessels fanned out for a vast search-and-rescue operation that also included a plane and a helicopter.

Authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far after the boat sank overnight in international waters some 45 miles southwest of Greece's southern Peloponnese peninsula. The spot is close to one of the deepest areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

It was unclear how many passengers might still be in the water or trapped in the sunken vessel, but some initial reports suggested hundreds of people may have been on board.

Four survivors were hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia. At the southern port of Kalamata, dozens of others were taken to sheltered areas set up by the ambulance services and the United Nations Refugee Agency to receive dry clothes and medical attention.

The Greek coast guard said 78 bodies have been recovered so far.

The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya. That country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Human traffickers have benefited from the ensuing instability and made Libya one of the main departure points for people attempting to reach Europe on smugglers' boats.

The Italian coast guard first alerted Greek authorities and the European Union border protection agency, Frontex, about the approaching vessel on Tuesday.

The United Nations migration agency, IOM, said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were on board. A network of activists said it received a distress call from a boat in the same area whose passengers said 750 people were on board — but it was not clear if that was the vessel that sank.

‼️ A shipwreck occurred today off Pylos, Greece according to @HCoastGuard . So far 104 survivors were brought to shore while 32 bodies were recovered. Search and rescue efforts continue and we fear more lives were lost. Initial reports suggest up to 400 people were onboard. pic.twitter.com/7TBTWiHs84 — IOM - UN Migration 🇺🇳 (@UNmigration) June 14, 2023

After that first alert, Frontex aircraft and two merchant ships spotted the boat heading north at high speed, according to the Greek coast guard. More aircraft and ships were sent to the area.

But repeated calls to the vessel offering help were declined, the coast guard said in a statement.

"In the afternoon a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided it with food and supplies, while the (passengers) refused any further assistance," it said. A second merchant ship that approached it later offered further supplies and assistance, which were turned down, it added.

In the evening, a coast guard patrol boat reached the vessel "and confirmed the presence of a large number of migrants on the deck," the statement said. "But they refused any assistance and said they wanted to continue to Italy."

The coast guard boat accompanied the migrant vessel, which, the statement said, capsized and sank early Wednesday, prompting a massive rescue operation by all the ships in the area.

Alarm Phone, a network of activists that provides a hotline for migrants in trouble, meanwhile, said it was contacted by people on a boat in distress on Tuesday afternoon. That boat was in the same general area as the one that sank, but it was not clear if it was the same vessel.

The organization notified Greek authorities and Frontex. In one communication with Alarm Phone, migrants reported the vessel was overcrowded and that the captain had abandoned the ship on a small boat, according to the group. They asked for food and water, which was provided by a merchant ship.

When they have larger boats, Mediterranean smugglers are increasingly trying to stay in international waters as they pass by Greece to try to avoid its coast guard patrols.

On Sunday, 90 migrants on a U.S.-flagged yacht were rescued in the area after they made a distress call.

Six Greek coast guard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport plane, an air force helicopter, several private vessels and a drone from Frontex are currently taking part in the search for the boat that sank Wednesday.

Greek President Katerina Sakellaropoulou headed for the area where rescued migrants are being tended to and planned campaign events by political parties ahead of June 25 national elections were called off.

Separately Wednesday, a yacht with 81 migrants on board was towed to a port on the south coast of Greece's island of Crete after authorities received a distress call.

According to IOM, there have been about 27,000 missing migrants reported in the  Mediterranean region  since 2014. The group says the Central Mediterranean is the "deadliest known migration route in the world." 

The worst migrant tragedy in Greece was in June 2016 when at least 320 people were listed as dead or missing, according to AFP records going back to 1993.

Along with Italy and Spain, Greece has been one of the main landing points for tens of thousands of people seeking to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East.

Greece is also facing an increase of crossing attempts from Turkey on southern routes near the Cyclades islands and toward the Peloponnese peninsula, hoping to avoid patrols in the northern Aegean Sea.

Rescue operations are common, but last month the Greek government came under international pressure over video footage reportedly showing the forceful expulsion of migrants who were set adrift at sea.

Greece and other EU member states on the southern and southeastern rim of the bloc say they are being unfairly tasked with managing the arrivals of undocumented migrants.

AFP contributed to this report.   

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At least 79 killed and hundreds feared missing as migrant boat sinks off Greece

At least 79 migrants have drowned and hundreds more were missing and feared dead after their overloaded boat capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years.

Key points:

• A shipping ministry official said most migrants were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan
• Greek's state broadcaster said the boat had set sail from a Libyan town and was headed to Italy

Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

As a painstaking search for survivors continued, a European rescue-support charity said it believed around 750 people were on board the 20- to 30-metre-long vessel when it sank early on Wednesday (local time).

The UN's migration agency estimated there were up to 400 passengers.

So far, 104 people have been rescued.

Coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state ERT TV that it was impossible to accurately estimate the number of passengers.

He said it appeared that the vessel had capsized after people abruptly moved to one side.

"The outer deck was full of people, and we presume that the interior [of the vessel] would also have been full," he said.

"It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized."

A media report said the boat left from Libya, and a shipping ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity said most of those on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.

Search and rescue operations were to continue through the night, with military aircraft deploying flares to light up the Mediterranean waters around the wreck site about 80 kilometres south-west of the southern Greek coastal town of Pylos.

Survivors were taken to the Greek port of Kalamata near Pylos.

Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of Kalamata, said the boat had sunk "very quickly".

"It  … was gone by the time the rescue helicopter got there," he said.

"The area where this happened has very deep water."

Covered in blankets, survivors rested on mattresses at a warehouse shelter, and the migration ministry was expected to move them to a camp outside Athens.

The shipwreck was the deadliest off Greece in several years.

In February, 96 people died when their wooden boat smashed into rocks on Italy's Calabrian coast during a storm .

Greece's caretaker administration, in power between an inconclusive election on May 21 and new elections on June 25, has declared three days of national mourning.

Greek coast guard says Migrants refused help

The Greek coast guard said the boat was first spotted late on Tuesday by EU border agency Frontex in international waters.

A Greek coast guard vessel then approached the boat, which was en route to Italy, and offered help.

The large number of migrants on its outer deck "refused assistance and stated their desire to continue their voyage", the coast guard said.

A few hours later the boat capsized and sank, triggering a search and rescue operation.

State broadcaster ERT said most of those on board were young men in their 20s.

Katerina Tsata, head of a Red Cross volunteer group in Kalamata, said the migrants had been given psychological support.

“They suffered a very heavy blow, both physical and mental,” she said.

Most cross over to Greek islands from nearby Turkey, but a growing number of boats also undertake a longer, more dangerous journey from Turkey to Italy via Greece.

Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, called on governments to work together on creating safe pathways for people fleeing poverty and war.

"Only sadness and anger after another deadly tragedy at sea in the Mediterranean," he wrote on Twitter.

Greece was at the frontline of Europe's 2015 migration crisis, when nearly 1 million people arrived on its islands from Turkey before heading north to wealthier European states.

Numbers have fallen dramatically since a 2016 deal struck between Brussels and Ankara to stem the flows, while the previous conservative government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis had said a tough policy — which included more border patrols and migrant camps under heavy surveillance — helped keep arrivals low.

About 72,000 refugees and migrants have arrived so far this year in Europe's frontline Mediterranean countries, according to United Nations data, with the majority landing in Italy and around 6,500 in Greece.

Nearly 1,000 people are estimated to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, according to the UN.

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Dozens are dead and hundreds feared missing from migrant ship sinking off Greece

The Associated Press

This undated handout image provided by Greece's coast guard on Wednesday, June14, 2023, shows scores of people covering practically every free stretch of deck on a battered fishing boat that later capsized and sank off southern Greece. AP hide caption

This undated handout image provided by Greece's coast guard on Wednesday, June14, 2023, shows scores of people covering practically every free stretch of deck on a battered fishing boat that later capsized and sank off southern Greece.

KALAMATA, Greece — Rescue workers transferred the bodies of dead migrants to refrigerated trucks as a major search continued Thursday for possible survivors of a sea disaster in southern Greece. Hundreds of people are still feared missing.

At least 78 bodies have been recovered after a fishing boat crammed with migrants seeking to make it from Libya to Italy capsized and sank a day earlier in deep waters off the Greek coast.

Rescuers saved 104 passengers — including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians — but authorities fear that hundreds of others may have been trapped below deck. If confirmed that would make the tragedy one of the worst ever recorded in the central Mediterranean.

Authorities revised the confirmed death toll from 79 following an overnight count of the bodies.

Why Tunisians are now risking their lives trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe

"The survivors are in a very difficult situation. Right now they are in shock," Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations Refugee Agency delegation, told The Associated Press after meeting the rescued migrants in a storage hangar in the southern port of Kalamata.

"They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they are OK, and they keep asking about the missing. Many have friends and relatives unaccounted for."

Greece declared three days of mourning and politicians suspended campaigning for a general election on June 25.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she was "deeply saddened" by the tragedy and promised to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and nearby countries to try to further crack down on migrant smugglers.

But human rights groups argue that the crackdown means migrants and refugees are being forced to take longer and more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.

The search operation south of Greece's Peloponnese region failed to locate any more bodies or survivors overnight or early Thursday.

A map shows the route that a fishing boat carrying migrants to Italy from Libya sank in the Mediterranean Wednesday. AP hide caption

A map shows the route that a fishing boat carrying migrants to Italy from Libya sank in the Mediterranean Wednesday.

"The chances of finding (more survivors) are minimal," retired Greek coast guard admiral Nikos Spanos told state-run ERT television.

"We have seen old fishing boats like this before from Libya: They are about 30 meters (100 feet) long and can carry 600-700 people when crammed full. But they are not at all seaworthy. To put it simply, they are floating coffins."

Coast guard experts believe the boat may have sunk after running out of fuel or suffering engine trouble, with movement of passengers inside the vessel causing it to list and ultimately capsize.

An aerial photograph of the vessel before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed on the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.

Migrants Continue To Die In Attempts To Cross Mediterranean Sea To Europe

"We are witnessing one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean, and the numbers announced by the authorities are devastating," said Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek section of IOM, the U.N. migration agency.

The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

Greece's coast guard said it was notified by Italian authorities of the trawler's presence in international waters. It said efforts by its own ships and merchant vessels to assist the boat were repeatedly rejected, with people on board insisting they wanted to continue to Italy.

Twenty-nine of the survivors in southern Greece remain hospitalized, mostly with symptoms of hypothermia, while eight have been questioned by coast guard investigators. Government officials said the survivors would be moved to a migrant shelter near Athens later Thursday or Friday.

A survivors of a shipwreck washes his face outside a warehouse at the port in Kalamata town, about 240 kilometers (150miles) southwest of Athens on Wednesday, June 14, 2023. Thanassis Stavrakis/AP hide caption

A survivors of a shipwreck washes his face outside a warehouse at the port in Kalamata town, about 240 kilometers (150miles) southwest of Athens on Wednesday, June 14, 2023.

The spot is close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, and depths of up to 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) could hamper any effort to locate a sunken vessel.

The IOM said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were aboard. A network of activists said it received a distress call from a boat in the same area whose passengers said it carried 750 people.

The Mediterranean's deadliest shipwreck in living memory occurred on April 18, 2015, when an overcrowded fishing boat collided off Libya with a freighter trying to come to its rescue. Only 28 people survived. Forensic experts concluded that there were originally 1,100 people on board.

• mediterranean

78 dead after boat with refugees and migrants sinks off Greece

The accident occurred in international waters in the Ionian Sea and prompted an extensive rescue operation complicated by strong winds.

At least 78 people have died and many more are feared missing after a fishing boat carrying refugees and migrants capsized and sank off the southern coast of Greece – one of the worst such disasters this year.

The Greek coastguard said in a statement on Wednesday the vessel sank in international waters, 47 nautical miles (87km) southwest of Pylos, off the Peloponnese coast. The spot is close to one of the deepest areas of the Mediterranean.

Keep reading

Tunisia tennis star urges ‘dignity’ amid crackdown on immigrants, zimbabwean migrants are part of south africa’s fabric, boat carrying 400 migrants adrift between italy and malta, ‘deadliest quarter’ for migrants in the central med since 2017.

Rescuers saved 104 passengers – including Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians – and recovered 79 bodies.

The search continued early on Thursday for more survivors, with aircraft dropping flares to help search teams.

“It’s one of the biggest [such] operations ever in the Mediterranean,” Greek coastguard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state ERT TV.

“We won’t stop looking,” he said.

The sinking could be one of the worst ever recorded on the feared central Mediterranean migration route, which is the world’s deadliest.

Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of the southern port city of Kalamata, where survivors were taken, said his information indicated there were “more than 500 people” on board.

Six coastguard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport and an air force helicopter, as well as several private vessels, were taking part in the search for those missing overnight.

An aerial photograph of the battered blue vessel released by the coastguard showed a large number of people covering practically every inch of deck.

Coastguard spokesman Alexiou told state ERT TV it appeared that the 25- to 30-metre (80- to 100-foot) vessel capsized after people abruptly moved to one side.

“The outer deck was full of people, and we presume the interior [of the vessel] would also have been full,” he said. “It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized.”

Greek authorities cannot confirm reports the boat had an estimated 700-750 people on board, the spokesman for Greece’s caretaker government, Ilias Siakantaris, told ERT.

“We do not know what was in the hold … but we know that several smugglers lock people up to maintain control,” said Siakantaris.

‘Side effect of EU policies’

Eleni Spathana, a lawyer working with the Greek NGO Refugee Support Aegean, told Al Jazeera there were “no words” to describe the latest tragedy .

“Our reaction is of shock, of course,” said Spathana, stressing the repeated sea disasters were a byproduct of the European Union’s migration policies.

“[They are] a side effect of the deterrent EU policies and all these efforts – no matter what – to keep people in need of protection and support outside the EU territory.”

Four of the survivors were hospitalised in the port city of Kalamata with symptoms of hypothermia. Dozens of others were taken to sheltered areas in the city that were set up by the ambulance services and the United Nations Refugee Agency to receive dry clothes and medical attention.

None of those rescued had safety equipment such as life jackets, the coastguard said.

Greece’s caretaker prime minister, Ioannis Sarmas, declared three days of national mourning, “with our thoughts on all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness”.

The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya.

Greek authorities did not immediately confirm its port of departure but a shipping ministry official said most of those on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.

Greek officials and the EU border protection agency Frontex were first alerted about the approaching vessel on Tuesday.

After that first alert, Frontex aircraft and two merchant ships spotted the boat heading north at high speed, according to the Greek coastguard. More aircraft and ships were sent to the area. But repeated calls to the vessel offering help were declined, the coastguard said.

“In the afternoon a merchant vessel approached the ship and provided it with food and supplies, while the [passengers] refused any further assistance,” it said. A second merchant ship that approached it later offered further supplies and assistance, which were turned down, it added.

In the evening, a coastguard patrol boat reached the vessel “and confirmed the presence of a large number of migrants on the deck”, the statement said. “But they refused any assistance and said they wanted to continue to Italy.”

Support service Alarm Phone said on Twitter it alerted authorities after being contacted on Tuesday by a boat in distress in the Greek Search and Rescue zone. “According to the people, there were 750 people on board,” it wrote on Twitter. “Contact was lost shortly after midnight.”

It was not clear if that was the vessel that sank.

Yiannis Karvelis, regional health director, described the situation as “tragic and very difficult”.

”I am afraid the number of victims will be higher because the number of the people on board was much higher than the boat’s capacity.”

Separately, on Wednesday, a yacht with more than 70 people on board was towed to a port on the south coast of the island of Crete after authorities received a distress call.

Rescue operations are common, but last month, the Greek government came under international pressure over video footage reportedly showing the forceful expulsion of migrants and refugees who were set adrift at sea.

Last year, nearly 3,800 people died on migration routes within and from the Middle East and North Africa, the highest number recorded there since 2017, according to data published on Tuesday by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project recorded 3,789 deaths in 2022 along sea and land routes in the region, including crossings of the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea.

Hundreds feared dead as search continues for missing migrants after fishing boat sinks off Greece

At least 78 people are known to have died in the tragedy off the coast of Greece - but a charity says up to 750 may have been on board the vessel.

By Daniel Binns, news reporter

Thursday 15 June 2023 14:25, UK

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A massive search operation is continuing for "hundreds" of missing migrants after at least 78 drowned when a fishing boat sank off the coast of Greece.

Officials said 104 survivors were rescued after the vessel capsized about 50 miles from the southern coastal town of Pylos.

But charity Alarm Phone, which operates a network supporting rescue operations and received frantic calls from some of those on board, said up to 750 people may have been on the vessel.

Greek officials said the boat got into difficulties when its engine stopped and it began veering from side to side.

It then capsized and sank at around 2am on Wednesday.

Shortly beforehand, Alarm Phone said it spoke to someone on board who said: "The captain left on a small boat. Please, any solution."

They also pleaded for food and water, and said the vessel had stopped moving, according to the charity.

The search for survivors continued on Thursday morning and is expected to last until at least Friday, Greek authorities said.

Six coastguard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport plane, an air force helicopter, several private vessels and a drone from the European Union border protection agency, Frontex, are taking part in the operation.

Officials said it was unlikely the sunken boat would be recovered because the area of international waters is one of the deepest in the Mediterranean.

Three days of national mourning have been declared by the Greek government.

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But Alarm Phone accused the Greek and other European authorities of failing to launch a rescue operation before the boat went down, despite being "well aware of this overcrowded and unseaworthy vessel".

The Greek coastguard denied the claim and said those on board "refused our assistance because they wanted to go to Italy".

Spokesperson Nikos Alexiou added that they still stayed nearby "in case it needed our assistance which they had refused".

Survivors were brought to the port city of Kalamata by the coastguard early on Thursday. Many are being treated for conditions including hypothermia and dehydration.

Aerial pictures released by the Greek coastguard showed the 20 to 30-metre-long boat hours before it sank.

Dozens of people on the upper and lower decks were seen looking up, some with arms outstretched.

Witnesses said many more women and children were below in the hold, according to local reports.

Greek authorities, who initially said 79 people had died before later revising the figure down to 78, said they could not confirm how many people were on board.

Hopes of finding survivors are fading in Kalamata

Middle East correspondent

Some 104 people were rescued from the sinking boat, all of them men.

It hasn't yet been confirmed that women and children were onboard, but the fear is that they were being kept below deck and so were dragged down with the boat when it capsized.

Some people have said there were 775 people onboard. However, the deputy mayor of Kalamata, the town where the rescued have been brought to, told us he thinks it was around 550 judging by the size of the boat.

Either way, the number of missing is still huge and it's unlikely many, if any, will now be found alive.

The survivors are being looked after by Greek authorities and aid agencies, in a warehouse by the waterside in Kalamata. Some are being treated in hospital for hypothermia but most are suffering from dehydration and mental trauma.

Later they will be taken to a nearby migrant holding centre, but for now the search operation continues and the weather remains good.

The ship reportedly sank in one of the deepest parts of the Mediterranean, making a salvage operation very tricky.

The UN's International Organisation for Migration said initial reports suggested there were up to 400 people on the vessel.

The boat is thought to have set off from the Libyan port of Tobruk and was heading to Italy.

Greek authorities said most of the migrants were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan.

Read more: 'This is my chance': Inside a mass migrant rescue On board a mission to save 600 people How one of the worst tragedies so far unfolded in February

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It comes as Libyan authorities launch a major crackdown on migrants, with several thousand - including Egyptians, Syrians, Sudanese and Pakistanis - detained.

Many Egyptians have been deported to their home country through a land crossing point.

The region is one of the main routes into Europe for refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The UN said there have been more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean since 2014, making it the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.

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78 dead, hundreds still missing after migrant boat sinks off Greek coast

KALAMATA, Greece (AP) — Rescue ships fanned out Thursday in search of hundreds of migrants feared missing after their overcrowded boat capsized and sank as they tried to reach Europe. At least 78 people died.

Rescuers saved 104 passengers from a fishing boat that sank in deep waters off Greece’s coast while trying to travel from Libya to Italy, but authorities fear that hundreds of others may have been trapped below deck. If confirmed, that would make the tragedy one of the worst ever recorded in the central Mediterranean.

“The chances of finding (more survivors) are minimal,” retired Greek coast guard admiral Nikos Spanos told state-run ERT television.

The U.N. migration agency, known as IOM, estimated that the vessel was carrying 700 to 750 people, including at least 40 children, based on interviews with survivors.

Authorities revised the confirmed death toll from 79 to 78 following an overnight count of the bodies.

The people rescued were mostly men and included Egyptians, Syrians, Pakistanis, Afghans and Palestinians.

“The survivors are in a very difficult situation. Right now they are in shock,” Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations Refugee Agency delegation, told The Associated Press after meeting the rescued migrants in a storage hangar in the southern port of Kalamata.

“They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they are OK, and they keep asking about the missing. Many have friends and relatives unaccounted for.”

Mohamed Abdi Marwan, who spoke by phone from Kobani, a Kurdish majority town in northeastern Syria, said that five of his relatives were on the boat, including one who 14 years old. Marwan said he’s heard nothing about his relatives since the vessel sank. He believes his nephew Ali Sheikhi, 29, is alive, after family members spotted him in photos of survivors, but Marwan said friends are still making their way to the makeshift camp in Greece to confirm.

READ MORE: 80 migrants rescued from wrecked boat off Italian coast, nearly 60 dead, dozens missing

“Those smugglers were supposed to only have 500 on the boat and now we hear there were 750. What is this? Are they cattle or humans? How can they do this?” Marwan said. He said that each of his relatives paid $6,000 for the trip.

Greece declared three days of mourning and politicians suspended campaigning for a general election on June 25. A Supreme Court prosecutor ordered an investigation into the circumstances of the deaths.

Greek authorities said that the vessel appeared to be sailing normally until shortly before it sank, and declined repeated offers of rescue, while a network of activists said they received repeated distress calls from the vessel during the same time.

The Greek Coast Guard said that it was notified of the boat’s presence late Tuesday morning, and observed by helicopter that it was “sailing on a steady course” at 6 p.m.

A little later, the Greek Joint Search and Rescue reached someone on the boat by satellite phone, who repeatedly said that passengers needed food and water but wanted to continue sailing to Italy.

Merchant and ships delivered supplies and observed the ship until early Wednesday morning, when the satellite phone user reported a problem with the engine. About 40 minutes after the engine trouble was reported, according to the coast guard statement, the migrant vessel suddenly began to rock violently and then sank.

Coast guard experts believe the boat may have sunk after running out of fuel or suffering engine trouble, with movement of passengers causing it to list and ultimately capsize.

Alarm Phone, a network of activists that provides a hotline for migrants in trouble, said that the trouble began much earlier in the day. The network said it was contacted by people on the vessel asking for help shortly after 3 p.m., who said “they cannot survive the night.”

Around 6:20 p.m., Alarm Phone wrote, migrants reported the vessel was not moving and that the captain had abandoned the ship on a small boat, according to the group. The two accounts could not immediately be reconciled.

Experts said maritime law would have required Greek authorities to attempt a rescue if the boat was unsafe, whether or not passengers requested it. Search and rescue “is not a two way contract, you don’t need consent” retired Italian coast guard admiral Vittorio Alessandro told the AP.

READ MORE: Activists accuses Italy of slow response that led to migrant deaths at sea

An aerial photograph of the vessel before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed on the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.

Overcrowding, a lack of life vests, or the absence of a captain would have all been reasons to intervene, Alessandro said.

Greece’s caretaker minister in charge of civil protection, Evangelos Tournas, strongly defended the coast guard’s conduct and insisted that the migrants repeatedly refused assistance, insisting on continuing to Italy.

“The coast guard cannot intervene with a vessel which doesn’t accept the intervention in international waters,” he said. “Consider also that an intervention by the coast guard could have placed an overloaded vessel in danger, which could capsize as a result of the intervention.”

Twenty-nine of the survivors remain hospitalized in southern Greece, mostly with symptoms of hypothermia, while eight have been questioned by coast guard investigators. Government officials said the survivors would be moved to a migrant shelter near Athens later Thursday or Friday.

The bodies of the dead migrants were moved to a morgue outside Athens, where DNA samples and facial photographs will be taken to start the identification process. The embassies of the countries involved will assist, health officials said.

The location of the accident is close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, where depths of up to 17,000 feet (5,200 meters) could hamper any effort to locate a sunken vessel.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and promised to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and nearby countries to try to further crack down on migrant smugglers.

But human rights groups argue that the crackdown has forced migrants and refugees to take longer and more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.

The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

The Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwreck in living memory occurred on April 18, 2015, when a fishing boat overcrowded with migrants collided off Libya with a freighter trying to come to its rescue. Only 28 people survived. Forensic experts concluded that there were originally 1,100 people on board.

Paphitis reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press writer Renata Brito in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.

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Journalists retrace fateful journey of group of 43 African migrants lost at sea

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Boat full of migrants sinks off coast of Greece, 79 dead and hundreds missing

Several distress calls from the boat were received about a failed engine and overcrowding of an estimated 750 passengers 45 miles from pylos, greece.

By Rebecca Olds

After sending distress calls due to a failed engine and an overcrowded boat, a boat full of migrants sank on Wednesday off the coast of Greece, killing at least 79 migrants while hundreds more are believed to be missing, according to reports.

The fishing vessel was traveling from Tobruk, Libya, bound for Italy, full of migrants from mostly Egypt, Pakistan and Syria, who were seeking asylum from violence and political upheaval, reported The New York Times .

What happened?

Alarm Phone , an organization that reaches out to the European Coast Guard and demands aid for those who trigger an emergency alarm by calling, said they received multiple calls of distress. The migrants on the boat said they worried about the number of people on the boat, estimating that 750 people were onboard and covering every square inch of the deck.

The group said the first call came in on Tuesday morning and throughout the day it was eventually able to get the coordinates of the boat, which the group said were passed along to the Hellenic Coast Guard of Greece.

Earlier that same day, Italian authorities had notified Greece about a distress call they received coming from international waters, per a statement by the coast guard. Greek officials said that several offers of assistance were declined by those on board, saying they wished to continue on their journey to Italy.

With many people on board, there’s speculation that there could have been a disagreement about accepting help, reported The Washington Post .

On Wednesday night, the boat sank from what the Greek coast guard described as “a right turn, then a sharp left, and then another right so big that it caused the vessel to capsize,” reported the Times. It sank within 15 minutes.

Greek officials rescued 104 survivors 45 miles off the Greek coastal town of Pylos. They were flown to a hospital in Kalamata, per the Post.

What’s next?

Search and rescue is ongoing but it’s still unclear how many people are missing without a firm number on how many passengers were on board, reported the Times. The wreck sank in 13,000 feet of water, which would put it and its victims out of the range of divers.

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Oh Nothing, Just a Few Photos of a $7 Million Super Yacht Sinking into the Sea

This week, a "super yacht" valued at somewhere between $6 and $7 million, ran into a reef and sank off the coast of Mykonos, Greece. Now it's important to note that everyone aboard was rescued unharmed... So you can feel free to look at these incredible photos from the Daily Mail guilt-free.

Here's what the yacht looked like before:

Here's what it looks like now:

According to the Daily Mail , the owner of the yacht is still unknown but the boat was flying an American Flag before it sank. I'm sure some insurance company is sending someone to Greece right now, to try to find a loophole in the coverage. "Oh, see, your policy only covered you on land. I know, it's weird. You must have checked the wrong box. Had you crashed a truck that was driving the yacht, you'd have been covered, but on the sea, unfortunately you're screwed."

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64 people missing and many rescued from 2 shipwrecks off Italy. At least 11 have died

Sixty-four people were missing at sea after a shipwreck off the Italian southern coast on Monday, United Nations’ agencies said in a statement. In the shipwreck, which took place about 200 kilometres (125 miles) off Calabria, a boat that had set off from Turkey eight days earlier caught fire and overturned, the U.N. agencies said, citing survivors. The Italian Red Cross said overall 12 people were rescued although one person died. (AP video shot by Valeria Ferraro)

Some of the 11 migrants saved from the sea after their sailboat sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Greece early Monday, June 17, 2024, are assisted in Roccella Ionica, southern Italy where they were brought by the Italian Coast Guard. (AP Photo/Valeria Ferraro)

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This picture taken early Monday, June 17, 2024 by the Italian Coast Guard shows a sail boat used by migrants half sank in the Mediterranean Sea between Italy and Greece early Monday, June 17, 2024. 12 survivors were brought to the Italian port-city of Roccella Ionica but one died on arrival, while searches for some 60 more occupants are being carried out. (Italian Coast Guard via AP, Ho)

ROME (AP) — Sixty-four people were missing in the Mediterranean Sea and several were rescued after their ship wrecked off Italy’s southern coast Monday, United Nations’ agencies said in a statement.

In a separate shipwreck, rescue workers evacuated dozens of suspected migrants but found 10 bodies trapped below the deck of a wooden boat off Italy’s tiny Lampedusa island, the German aid group Resqship wrote on Monday on the X social media platform.

The boat that wrecked about 200 kilometers (125 miles) off Calabria had set off from Turkey eight days earlier, but caught fire and overturned, the U.N. agencies said, citing survivors.

The search-and-rescue operation started following a mayday call by a French boat, the Italian coast guard said in a statement. The boat was sailing in a border area where Greece and Italy carry out search-and-rescue operations. The survivors and people still missing at sea came from Iran, Syria and Iraq, the U.N. agencies said.

The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Center immediately diverted two merchant vessels sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue. Assets from the European border and coast guard agency Frontex also helped.

The survivors were brought to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel. One of the 11 rescued migrants died soon after, the coast guard said.

In the second shipwreck, the crew aboard Resqship’s boat, the Nadir, found 61 people on the wooden boat, which was full of water.

“Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious,” it added. “The 10 dead were in the flooded lower deck of the boat.”

Follow AP’s global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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Houthis Attack Merchant Ship in Red Sea Off Yemen’s Coast

The Iran-backed militia has launched dozens of attacks on shipping vessels in the vital sea route in support of Palestinians in Gaza.

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By Anjana Sankar

• June 12, 2024

Yemen’s Houthi rebels attacked a merchant ship in the Red Sea on Wednesday in the latest escalation of the Iran-backed militia’s campaign against shipping in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

A British government maritime agency said the vessel was “hit on the stern by a small craft” about 66 nautical miles southwest of the Houthi-held port of Hodeida in Yemen.

After the attack, the ship was “taking on water, and not under command of the crew,” the agency, The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, said in a statement on its website. The statement said the ship’s master had reported it was also “hit for a second time by an unknown airborne projectile.”

A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said in a televised speech that the group had used unmanned surface boats, a number of drones and ballistic missiles to target the ship, which he identified as the Tutor, a Greek-owned bulk carrier. He claimed the ship was seriously damaged and could sink.

On Wednesday, the Houthis said they launched two joint military operations with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, on the Israeli cities Ashdod and Haifa, a claim Israel denied.

Since November, the Houthis have launched dozens of attacks on ships in the vital sea route in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, stifling global maritime trade.

In retaliation, the U.S. and British navies have been intensifying airstrikes against Houthi targets, the latest coming on June 7 after the rebel group detained 11 United Nations employees in Yemen.

The U.S. Central Command said its forces had destroyed four aerial drones and two anti-ship missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen last Friday, as well as a Houthi patrol boat in the Red Sea.

In February, American military officials said the United States struck five Houthi military targets, including an undersea drone they described as an “unmanned underwater vessel” that they believed the Houthis could have received from Iran.

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11 migrants killed, 64 missing after 2 ships sink off Italy coast

Ten suspected migrants were found dead when their ship capsized off italy’s tiny lampedusa island while another ship caught fire and overturned off calabria. one migrant died later and 64 others were still missing at sea after the separate incidents..

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• 2 ships carrying suspected migrants capsize in separate incidents off southern Italy
• 64 are missing while 11 were rescued and taken to Italian town for assistance
• 10 bodies found in shipwreck off Lampedusa island, one migrant died later

Sixty-four people were missing at sea after a shipwreck off the Italian southern coast on Monday, while 11 were rescued and taken ashore to a Calabrian town, United Nations’ agencies said in a statement.

In a separate shipwreck, rescue workers found 10 bodies of suspected migrants trapped below the deck of a wooden boat off Italy’s tiny Lampedusa island, the German aid group Resqship wrote on Monday on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.

In the first shipwreck, which took place about 200 kilometres off Calabria, a boat that had set off from Turkey eight days earlier caught fire and overturned, the UN agencies said, citing survivors.

The search and rescue operation started following a Mayday call by a French boat, the Italian Coast Guard said in a statement. The boat was sailing in a border area where Greece and Italy carry out search and rescue operations. Survivors and people still missing at sea came from Iran, Syria and Iraq, the UN agencies said.

The Italian Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre immediately diverted two merchant vessels sailing nearby to the scene of the rescue. Assets from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency Frontex also helped.

The survivors were brought to the Calabrian port of Roccella Jonica, where they were disembarked and entrusted to the care of medical personnel. One of the migrants died soon after, the coast guard said.

In the second shipwreck, the crew aboard Resqship’s boat, the Nadir, found 61 people on the wooden boat, which was full of water.

"Our crew was able to evacuate 51 people, two of whom were unconscious. The 10 dead were in the flooded lower deck of the boat," it added. Published By: Prateek Chakraborty Published On: Jun 18, 2024 ALSO READ | Al-Mangaf fire tragedy: The human cost of working in Kuwait ALSO READ | Donald Trump vows 'largest deportation operation' in US history if re-elected