Pakistani nationals on board a dilapidated fishing trawler that sank off the coast of Greece last week, killing at least 78 migrants, were forced below deck unlike passengers of other nationalities, survivors reportedly said.
Some of the 108 who were rescued following the disaster Wednesday are now speaking out as Pakistani police have announced the arrest of three traffickers in connection to the sinking.
"All the people involved in this tragedy will be brought to justice," Pakistan’s Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah Khan said in a statement. The country is observing a day of mourning on Monday, with flags flying at half-staff.
The vessel was carrying as many as 750 people, including scores of Pakistanis, when it sank in international waters. A search-and-rescue operation has since been underway.
RESCUE SHIPS SEARCH FOR HUNDREDS OF MIGRANTS OFF COAST OF GREECE FOLLOWING SHIPWRECK
Desperate for a better life, many Pakistanis pay up to $8,000 to traffickers to smuggle them to Europe through Iran, Libya and Turkey, according to The Associated Press.
Survivors who spoke to first responders said Pakistani passengers on board the trawler were forced below deck while people of other nationalities were allowed on the top deck, where they had greater chances of surviving in the event of a disaster, The Guardian reported.
The news organization, citing Pakistani media, also said around 300 Pakistanis are feared to have died in the sinking, while the country’s ministry of foreign affairs said only 12 Pakistanis have been counted so far among the survivors.
GREEK COAST GUARD DEFENDS ITS RESPONSE TO SHIPWRECK
Conditions on board the ship were so dire before the sinking that six people died after it ran out of fresh water, The Guardian also reported.
"We started the journey at dawn on Friday. Around 700 of us were on board," one migrant reportedly told investigators looking into the disaster. "We were traveling for three days and then the engine failed."
The ship sank off the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece.
In Greece on Monday, a court postponed a hearing for nine Egyptian men being held there over accusations of being migrant smugglers involved in the sinking of the ship.
The court in Kalamata pushed back the hearing to let the suspects and their lawyers review testimony provided over the weekend by nine Syrian and Pakistani survivors, according to the AP.
The news agency reported that the Egyptians were identified as members of a smuggling ring by some of the survivors, and face charges of participating in a criminal organization, causing a shipwreck, and endangering lives.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
