Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Company says at the least 181 folks from Pakistan and 28 from Pakistan-administered Kashmir are among the many victims of 1 the worst sea disasters within the Mediterranean.
At the least 209 Pakistanis have been amongst those that misplaced their lives within the boat wreck off Greece final week, based on knowledge shared by a Pakistani investigative company.
Data supplied to the Federal Investigation Company (FIA) by households of lacking passengers recognized to have boarded the boat that capsized off Greece’s coast suggests the dying toll could also be considerably larger than official figures.
Greek authorities say the variety of victims stands at 82 and the variety of survivors at 104, of whom 12 have been Pakistanis.
“An investigation to confirm that is below means,” FIA Islamabad Zone Director Rana Abdul Jabbar advised the Reuters information company.
Information shared with the information company confirmed that 181 among the many lacking passengers have been from Pakistan and 28 from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The FIA was tasked by the Pakistani authorities with dealing with investigations into the tragedy.
Pakistan is but to formally affirm what number of of its residents have been on the boat however kick-started a DNA sampling effort to assist Greece determine those that died. Officers gathered DNA samples from 201 households.
Lots of of individuals of various nationalities, together with Egyptians, Syrians and Palestinians, are believed to have been on board the vessel, in what’s seen because the worst sea catastrophe in years for the area.
Witness accounts prompt that between 400 and 750 folks had crammed onto the 20- to 30 metre-long (65- to 100-foot) fishing boat which then capsized and sank early on June 14 about 80km (50 miles) from the southern coastal city of Pylos.
The FIA mentioned 29 suspected human smugglers had been arrested in Pakistan to this point over the case.
Members of the family advised Al Jazeera they paid 2.2 million Pakistani rupees ($7,718) for every of the travellers to “brokers” who present documentation for folks trying to discover monetary alternatives overseas.
Among the many Syrians nonetheless lacking is a father who was desperately looking for most cancers remedy for his son, Al Jazeera has discovered.
Thaer al-Rahal, a 39-year-old who hails from the town of Inkhil, within the Daraa countryside, was a resident of the sprawling Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan.
“Thaer didn’t like the concept of travelling to Europe, and he all the time dreamed of returning to his hometown. However the seek for a treatment for his son who had most cancers prompted him to show to the treacherous sea,” his cousin, Abdul Rahman al-Rahal, advised Al Jazeera.
The tragedy off the coast of Greece was the third main incident recorded since February during which migrants and refugees from Pakistan misplaced their lives at sea.
