At least 79 migrants drowned early Wednesday (14 June), and hundreds more were missing and presumed dead when their overcrowded boat collapsed and sank in open seas off the coast of Greece, in one of Europe’s biggest shipping tragedies in recent years.
A European rescue-support NGO said it suspected 750 people were on board the 20- to 30-meter-long (65- to 100-foot-long) vessel while the hunt for survivors continued.
The UN migration agency projected up to 400 people, while Greece refused to guess the number of passengers.
104 individuals have been rescued at lunchtime. According to media reports, the boat left Libya, and according to a shipping ministry official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the majority of individuals on board were from Egypt, Syria, and Pakistan.
