ISLAMABAD, June 23 (Reuters) - At least 350 Pakistanis were on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece last week, Pakistan's Interior Minister said on Friday, promising to arrest and prosecute the human smugglers responsible.
Another 193 Pakistani families have taken DNA tests to try to identify those who died in one of Europe's deadliest shipping disasters in recent years, he said.
Pakistan said it has arrested several human traffickers and their agents who told authorities that their ring leader was based in Libya.
These human smugglers had charged around $8,000 a person to take them to Europe illegally through the sea route after flying legally to Dubai, Egypt and Libya, authorities said.
Reporting by Asif Shahzad, writing by Tanvi Mehta; Editing by Shivam Patel, Christina Fincher and Conor HumphriesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons:
Rana Sanaullah, Sanaullah, Asif Shahzad, Tanvi Mehta, Shivam Patel, Christina Fincher, Conor Humphries
Organizations:
Pakistan's, Thomson
Locations:
ISLAMABAD, Greece, Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Pylos, Libya, Europe, Dubai