Search Continues for Sunken Vessel Carrying Hundreds of Refugees in the Mediterranean Sea

As concerns grow over the potential deaths of hundreds of refugees, including 100 children, in a fishing vessel in the Mediterranean Sea, rescuers continued their efforts on Thursday to locate it. Reports indicate that this fishing vessel sank around 2 AM on Wednesday, June 14, approximately 80 kilometers from the city of Pylos in southern Greece, carrying between 400 to 750 refugees. So far, the bodies of 79 of these refugees have been found, and 104 individuals, mostly men, have been rescued. The bodies of the deceased were transferred on Thursday to a cemetery near Athens for DNA testing. According to Greek officials, the refugees on the outer deck of this vessel rejected a Greek Coast Guard boat's offer for assistance late Tuesday night, stating that their destination was Italy. Greek government sources have indicated that the likelihood of finding the wreckage of this 20 to 30-meter vessel, which had departed from the port of Tobruk in Libya heading to Europe, is very low, as it sank in one of the deepest points of the Mediterranean's international waters. Greece has declared three days of public mourning in honor of the victims of this incident. A spokesperson for the charity 'Save the Children' emphasized the need for European officials to pay attention to the ongoing drownings of refugees in the Mediterranean, stating that this sea is becoming 'the deadliest migration route in the world.' Greece is one of the main routes for Middle Eastern, Asian, and African refugees seeking to reach Europe. According to United Nations statistics, over 20,000 refugees have drowned in the central Mediterranean waters since 2014. Approximately 80 migrants have died in the waters around Greece. The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security has warned illegal immigrants, and the Sunak government has forecasted the number of incoming refugees to the UK in 2023. An Italian parliament representative stated that 685,000 refugees in Libya are seeking to enter Italy. France and Germany have requested Italy's assistance for 1,000 refugees, and Greek police rescued 92 naked migrants at the Turkish border.