In one of Europes biggest recent shipping tragedies, at least 79 migrants died early on Wednesday after their overloaded boat collapsed and sank in open waters off Greece. Hundreds more were missing and presumed dead.According to a European rescue-support agency, some 750 people were on board the 20 to 30-meter-long (65 to 100-foot-long) yacht as the agonising search for survivors went on. Greece declined to comment on the passenger figure, but the United Nations migration agency predicted up to 400.As per the reports, 104 people had been saved by noon, and it was known that the boat had left Libya. The majority of the migrants on board were thought to be from Pakistan, Syria, and Egypt.The survivors were taken to the nearby Greek port of Kalamata, where they were given temporary shelter and medical care. According to the Greek coast guard, they approached the boat and offered assistance, but the migrants on the outside deck declined and said they wanted to keep travelling. But after a few hours, the ship began to capsize and eventually sank at around 2:00 am on Wednesday.Following the tragedy, the current government of Greece declared three days of national mourning.The disaster was among the deadliest accidents to occur off the coast of Greece in recent history. The most recent significant incidence was in February when 96 people drowned when their boat crashed with rocks off the coast of Italys Calabria during a storm.While the UN High Commissioner for Refugees urged states to cooperate to create safe avenues for individuals escaping poverty and conflict, the Greek Ministry of Migration blamed international smuggling networks for putting migrants lives in danger.Notably, refugees and migrants from many different regions have used Greece as a significant entry route into the European Union. A greater number of migrants are making longer and riskier sea voyages from Turkey to Italy via Greece as a result of tighter controls at migrant centres.
