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A refugee boat carrying between 500 and 700 people sank off the coast of Greece last week. Only a good 100 of them could be saved. That much is known.

What is not known: how did this happen? And who is responsible? There are now new suspicions and allegations.

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Is the Coast Guard lying?

The BBC took a closer look at the radar data from the accident area – and discovered something strange.

Because the motion pictures of the ships that were in the region at the time of the accident contrast with the statements of the Greek Coast Guard. They recorded that they had contacted the refugee boat several times and always refused any assistance. It was functional and kept course for Italy.

However, according to the BBC, the movement data showed that several ships, which were in the immediate vicinity at the time before the refugee boat sank, abruptly changed course and rushed to the aid of the refugees. This was between 3 and 6 pm. The Greek coastguard had asked them to deliver water and food to people in need.

These ships always called at roughly the same spot for hours at a time – so the refugee boat had barely moved. This suggests that it was already disabled by then. According to the Coast Guard, the boat was moving steadily until 10:40 p.m.

A bad suspicion

Are the Greek authorities not telling the truth? Or are they even pursuing a strategy that consciously accepts such incidents? At least that is what the German refugee researcher Maurice Stirl suggests.

He says:

The Coast Guard disagrees

The Greek newspaper “Kathimerini” published on Sunday the transcript of a report that the commander of the patrol boat 920 gave to his superiors. As a result, about two hours before the accident, the captain offered help to the completely overcrowded fishing trawler – but this was refused.

According to the log, the captain and his crew were informed about the ailing boat by the maritime search and rescue center in Piraeus, Greece, around 3 p.m. Tuesday. The patrol boat then immediately set course for the region. The cutter was reportedly discovered around 11 p.m. The Coast Guard later approached the boat to about 200 yards and offered assistance.

“We have approached the ship to check its condition and that of the passengers and provide assistance again,” the newspaper quoted the captain, whose name was not published. Then the officials tied a rope to the bow of the ship. However, calls such as “No help” and “Go Italy” were heard on board – no help was needed, the destination was Italy. “Despite repeated calls asking if they needed help, they ignored us and untied the rope at around 11:57 p.m. They started the engine and headed west at low speed.”

The patrol boat then informed the search and rescue center and accompanied the boat at a distance of 200 meters, the captain said. At 01:40 the cutter stopped again. Then the boat slowly tipped over. There was a riot among the passengers and screaming was also heard. However, the boat capsized within a minute.

Pakistanis, children and women in the bow

Several statements from rescued fugitives on board the ship have since been made public. It is striking that, in addition to women and children, all migrants of Pakistani origin are said to have been locked up below deck.

This is supported by the fact that only a few of the rescued are Pakistanis – but there are believed to be up to 400. According to British media, the Pakistanis were treated very badly by the smugglers. If they asked for water, they were mistreated.

According to the report, women and children were locked below decks to protect them from the men traveling with them. No woman or child survived the accident.

Conditions on board were already appalling before the disaster. According to the Guardian, six people have died due to a lack of water supply.

(aeg)