Thriller: Sailing ship with 60 migrants 100 miles from Pylos

Sailboat from 60 migrants was seen on Friday afternoon (16/06/2023) at sea off Pylos and the Italian authorities have informed the Greek authorities where they are monitoring its movement.

Italian authorities warned Greece on Friday of another sailboat carrying dozens of migrants passing by Pylos, two sources told Reuters, just two days after a nearby fishing boat sank, killing at least 78 people.

“The sailboat is sailing about 100 miles from Pylos and was spotted by an Italian aircraft,” a Greek government official told Reuters, adding that the warning was received around 6 p.m.

The ship appeared to be heading for Italy, a second official said, adding that it was under the jurisdiction of the Greek search and rescue authorities, but was already too close to Italy. According to official figures, there were about 40-45 people on board. It is noted that earlier ERT spoke about 60 passengers.

Greece sent two ships and a helicopter to the area.

Earlier, in an interview with SKAI, Coast Guard spokesman Captain Nikos Alexios stressed that cargo ships passing in the area are heading to the location of the sailboat.

Map of the division of the exclusive economic zone between Italy and Greece, ratified in 2020

“The main thing is that the ship sails normally within the borders of two lines (Italy – Greece) and there is no danger. The helicopter will also check the accuracy of the data,” said Mr. Alexios.

“At the moment, we don’t have a clear picture of the number of migrants… There is no danger, there are no adverse weather conditions at the moment,” he specified.

Neither the authorities of Italy, nor the authorities of Greece, have decided what to do with such “travelers”. After all, they do not break any laws and do not ask for help. On their board are passengers who paid for the fare … And although the authorities are sure that these are smugglers transporting illegal immigrants, according to the law they can only be checked, but cannot be stopped.

It is noted that the search for the missing after the shipwreck that occurred on Wednesday continues in a wider area of ​​the sea, although they have not yielded results for the third day.

It is still not clear even the approximate number of passengers and the reasons that led to the shipwreck of the Egyptian fishing trawler, which occurred at 2 am on June 14th.

Currently, the operational forces to search for victims shipwreckcomprise a Navy frigate, six commercial vessels and a Hellenic Air Force helicopter.

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