FROM OUR REPORTER
ATHENS Sea space 45 miles off the coast of the Peloponnese reveals two bodies and there is still no certainty as to how the fishing boat carrying 747 migrants sank. Two bodies were found yesterday, in addition to the 78 already recovered on the night of the shipwreck (between June 13 and 14): if the cumbersome machine of international identification by DNA comes to a conclusion, two more families may find theirs Children bury brothers. Six days after the sinking, with 104 survivors and 80 bodies of the estimated 643 victims recovered from the sea, the Greek judiciary’s investigation continues. Below is another video. Recorded by a merchant ship that approached the distressed trawler at around 6 p.m. on June 13. The migrants’ boat stands still, swaying on the completely flat sea, thick clouds of smoke rise from the engine. Then it seems to move again. Very slowly. For the Greek Coast Guard, it would be confirmation that the ship was proceeding. For international organizations and many maritime law experts, however, the images say the opposite: a boat overloaded with people that had blown off course to its destination (Italy) and had apparent engine problems still had to be rescued.
The analysis of the second deadliest massacre in the history of migrations in the Mediterranean revolves around two central themes. Did the boat go or not? And, at the time of the sinking, were the Greek Coast Guards attempting to tow the ship, resulting in a jolt that caused it to capsize, as many survivors keep repeating?
Three independent studies of international media, including the British BBC, come together on one point. From the analysis of the traces of the merchant ships that came to the rescue between 6 a.m. and 2 a.m., the time of the sinking, it turned out that the fishing boat almost always stayed in the same place. The Hellenic Coast Guard, on the other hand, released a second official report yesterday claiming the ship had moved 30 miles during the day. And in the last three hours, the crucial one, he would have covered 6 miles (just over ten kilometers): definitely a minimum distance. Above all, the basic scenario remains, which the Corriere reported already two days after the shipwreck and which is confirmed by the same dynamic spread of the Greek Coast Guard: the authorities are doing everything not only to let pass, but also (a depending on the case ) to accompany, assist and push the boats in difficulty up to the waters of Italian responsibility. The problem, as it turns out after a week of investigations and testimonies, is that in this specific case the ship was not able to arrive in Italy.
In a report published yesterday by the Greek website document.gr, the commander of the Faithful Warrior, the second merchant ship to come to the rescue, said: “At 9:30 p.m. we began resupplying water and food. The passengers shouted the word Italy. There was a negative attitude from those managing the ship and a lack of willingness to cooperate.” However, he later adds: “At 21.45 we informed the Greek Coordination Center that the ship was dangerous due to excessive crowds on all decks blocked.” They then began to dump some supplies overboard. Words from an experienced captain that tally with a now-defined image: Even the migrants hoped to still be able to reach Italy, but the fishing boat would not have made it.