Frontex video shows overcrowded refugee ship before the accident off Greece

AreaRead the video transcript here

These recordings have been published by the EU border agency Frontex. They show the completely overcrowded fishing boat in the Mediterranean, a few hours before it sank almost 90 kilometers off the Greek coast. On board: several hundred people on three decks. According to inmates, there were as many as 750, most of them from Egypt, Pakistan and Syria. According to witnesses, there were many women and children in the hull.

It is unclear why the ship suddenly sank last Wednesday night. It is possible that the boat capsized because of a mass panic on board.

The Hellenic Coast Guard is still searching the area for the shipwreck – and for bodies. Three others have since been recovered, bringing the official death toll to 81. In fact, hundreds have drowned. 104 people were rescued.

One of them is Mohammad Hadhoud from Syria. The 18-year-old reunites with his older brother. He had searched for and found him in the port of Kalamata, Greece. The pictures went around the world last week. Now, for the first time, they can meet again without a fence – and hug each other.

Meanwhile, the alleged smugglers of the migrant boat were brought to court on Tuesday. The nine men from Egypt had been arrested on the basis of the testimony of other survivors.

Dimitris Drakopoulos, public defender of a suspected smuggler
»My client denies the allegations. He says he was also a victim, he too paid a considerable amount in Egyptian currency for the transfer from Egypt to Italy. He states that on the second day, when food and water were exhausted, a merchant ship approached them and offered food and water. The responsible smugglers threw the food and water back into the sea, while my client jumped into the water to retrieve the water bottles."

Allegations that they had offered help to the people on board too late were rejected by the Greek Coast Guard. The inmates had refused help and indicated that they wanted to continue to Italy. The Coast Guard had observed the ship for 15 hours. On the night of June 14, it stopped the engine and capsized 25 minutes later.