ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday said that the number of Pakistani nationals killed in a Greek shipwreck last week has risen to four.
At least five illegal migrants died after their wooden boat, carrying many Pakistanis, capsized off Greece’s southern island of Gavdos, the coastguard said on Saturday.
In separate incidents, a Malta-flagged cargo vessel rescued 47 migrants from a boat sailing about 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker rescued another 88 migrants some 28 nautical miles off the small island in Greece’s south.
The foreign ministry a day ago confirmed that one citizen was among the dead in the incidents while 47 Pakistanis were among the rescued.
However, in a statement issued on Monday, the Foreign Ministry said: “We announce with deep sorrow that, as per the latest information shared by the Greek authorities, four Pakistani nationals have been identified among the dead in Saturday’s incidents of capsized boats in the south of Crete Island of Greece.”
The statement said the Pakistani mission in Athens was in contact with Greek authorities to facilitate survivors and repatriate the dead bodies.
Earlier, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had vowed stern action against human traffickers after the tragic incident.
“Such persons should be identified and they should be handed strict punishments so that they do not repeat such heinous crimes,” Sharif said in a statement shared by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). “Concrete steps should be taken to prevent such incidents from happening in the future,” he added.
Sharif also directed the Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to submit an inquiry report on the matter.
Greece was a key entry point to the European Union for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia in 2015-2016, when nearly one million people arrived on its islands, mostly aboard inflatable boats.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants tragically drowned when an overcrowded vessel capsized and sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos. This disaster became one of the deadliest boat tragedies in the Mediterranean Sea.
Only 104 people were rescued, including 12 Pakistanis, and 82 bodies were recovered following the incident. The tragedy prompted Pakistani authorities to launch a nationwide crackdown on human smugglers.
The incident prompted Pakistani authorities to launch a nationwide crackdown against human smugglers.
