CNN —At least 79 people died after a migrant boat carrying hundreds of people sank off the Greek coast in the early hours of Wednesday, that country’s Coast Guard said, as fears mount that there could be more fatalities.
Those on board said the captain left the vessel three hours after the first distress call was made and passengers were in need of food and water, accoring to Alarm Phone.
A merchant vessel is said to have provided the boat with water at around 8 p.m. local time on Tuesday evening.
The last time Alarm Phone was able to contact the boat was just before 1 a.m. local time on Wednesday morning.
According to Alarm Phone, all that could be heard was “Hello my friend… The ship you send is…” before the call cut off.
Persons:
Thanasis Vasilopoulos, “, ”, Panagiotis Nikas, Antonio Guterres, I’ve, …, Katernina Sakellaropoulou, ” Vasilopoulus
Organizations:
CNN, Coast Guard, ” Kalamata, AP Migrants, Reuters, Organization for Migration, UN, Twitter, ERT, AP, European Union, UNHCR
Locations:
Kalamata, “, www.argolikeseidhseis.gr, Eurokinissi, State, Tobruk, Libya, Pylos, Peloponnese, Italy, Greece, East, Asia, Africa, Europe