The superyacht Mayan Queen IV was sailing smoothly in clear weather through the dark and calm Mediterranean in the early hours of June 14 when it received a call about a migrant ship in distress four nautical miles away. About 20 minutes later, shortly before 3 a.m., the towering $175-million yacht, owned by the family of a Mexican silver magnate, arrived at the scene. All the four-person crew could see were the lights of a Greek Coast Guard vessel scanning the water’s inky surface. “Horrible,” said the Mayan Queen’s captain, Richard Kirkby, who described the sea as “pitch black” on that nearly moonless night. As many as 650 men, women and children drowned.

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Persons: IV, ”, Richard Kirkby Organizations: Greek Coast Guard Locations: Mexican, Monaco, Italy