In the vicinity of Greece (precisely 50 miles from the southern town of Pylos), a ship which held an immense number of passengers ranging from 400 to 800 people had sunk. Last Wednesday on the very 14th of June, the shipwreck had officially been designated as one of the most horrendous pandemoniums of the decade.
Though the rising deaths and life-long trauma would be the most appropriate explanations as to why the incident was deemed so heartbreaking, the actual reason is quite different.
So what exactly happened?
After departing from the ports of Libya, the ship was headed towards Italy but unbeknownst to them, their stop along the journey would be rather violent. With the decks (in particular, the outer decks) being jam-packed with people, a precise number of ‘passengers’ is inconclusive. What is, however, conclusive is that the whole incident was a crime.
The Ship Could Have Been Saved.
Sending a distress call eight hours before the sinking was perhaps not so sufficient to grab any of the European authorities’ attention. Even if the route was by any means illegal, leaving people for an excruciating demise by drowning is not an accident, but a premeditated murder. 79 people being announced dead while approximately 500 other immigrants are missing is further proof that the system is failing us once again.
What about the survivors?
As for the traumatised warriors, most of them were men between the ages of 16 and 40 from a wide range of countries ranging from Syria, Egypt, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Not only was the incident utterly traumatic and agonising to the extent that some fainted as they walked off the footbridge but also about 30 people suffered from pneumonia and exhaustion.