(CN) — Dozens of migrants and asylum seekers drowned early Wednesday after their disastrously overcrowded fishing vessel capsized off the coast of Greece in one of Europe's worst sea disasters.
There were fears the death toll would climb catastrophically with media reports saying between 400 and 700 people were aboard the vessel. As of Wednesday evening, about 104 people had been rescued and 79 bodies had been found.
The disaster comes amid a worsening migrant crisis as tens of thousands of people in Asia and Africa flee poverty, war, disease and other catastrophes and seek refuge in Europe. Many migrants attempt to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean Sea in unseaworthy vessels, but the EU has taken an increasingly tough stance on migration and curtailed efforts to rescue migrants at sea.
In February, more than 90 migrants drowned off the tip of southern Italy when a boat they were on broke apart. It was one of the worst migrant sea disasters in the Mediterranean.
On Wednesday, the large fishing boat capsized and then sank at around 2 a.m. about 47 miles off the coast of Pylos, a town in Greece's Peloponnese region. Greece's coast guard and navy were leading large-scale search and rescue efforts. Strong winds hampered rescue efforts.
The decks of the vessel were crammed with people, according to coast guard photos released by ERT, a Greek broadcaster. Survivors said women and children were inside the vessel's hold. Most of those aboard the boat were from Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to news reports.
Media reported the boat, called the Andriana, left from Tobruk, Libya, four days ago and that it was headed toward Italy.
Panagiotis Nikas, the governor of Peloponnese, told reporters that survivors said 750 people were aboard the boat when it capsized.
“We fear the number of dead will rise a lot,” Nikas said, according to news reports.
Greek authorities said the vessel was spotted Tuesday by the European Union's border agency, Frontex, and that those aboard the fishing vessel refused help from Greek coast guard, saying they were headed to Italy, according to ANSA, an Italian state news agency.
The disaster casts a sinister light on the tough-on-migrant policies of Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the leader of Greece's conservatives who is expected to return to the prime minister's office following elections on June 25.
Since coming to power in 2019, Mitsotakis has largely sealed off Greece's borders to migrants and he's put the blame for migrant deaths on human smugglers. But his government has been accused of violently pushing migrants back from Greece's borders. Critics say his policies have prompted migrants to make even more dangerous sea voyages to avoid Greece.
“Another horrific shipwreck in the Mediterranean – this time near Greece – has claimed the lives of scores of people,” said António Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general. “As I’ve said before – every person searching for a better life deserves safety and dignity.”
About 72,000 asylum seekers and migrants have arrived in the EU from across the Mediterranean this year, according to U.N. figures.
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