At least 78 dead, after migrant boat sinks off Greek coast

Question

A fishing vessel sank off the southwestern coast of Greece has resulted in the deaths of at least 78 migrants, with fears that many more, may have drowned. This incident highlights the need for safer migration pathways, as tightened border controls and dangerous routes have put lives at risk.

1) How many people have been confirmed dead in the shipwreck of the coast of southwestern Greeve and how many migrants are still missing?

2) What were the conditions that led to the sinking of the fishing vessel, and were there any factors such as overcrowding or mechanical failure that contributed to the failure?

3) What actions were taken by the Greek government authorities to rescue the distressed migrants, and were there any attempts to prevent the vessel's sinking?

Answer 1

1. As of June 23rd, 82 bodies have been recovered and 104 people have been rescued. The ship was estimated to have been carrying around 700 migrants. So, approximately 514 people are still missing; however, the total number of passengers that were on the ship to begin with is still unknown.

2. There does not seem to be a confirmed answer on how this occurred. However, there have been nine Egyptian men who were crew members on the ship are facing charges for participating in a criminal organization, manslaughter, and causing the ship to sink. 

3.  The government has been collecting DNA samples from family members who believe that their relatives were on the boat. They are using the DNA samples to try and identify victims. The government has also taken steps to crackdown on human traffickers who have arranged for Pakistanis on the fishing boat to travel to find jobs in Europe. 

All of this information came from PBS News Hour's article "Around 350 Pakistanis were on migrant boat that sank off Greece and many still missing, official says." 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/around-350-pakistanis-were-on-migrant-boat-that-sank-off-greece-and-many-still-missing-official-says 

Comments

Very well written. The extra details provided for each question work well in visualizing this disastrous situation.
This information can be validated by CBS News and CNN as well.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/migrants-boat-sinks-greece-deaths-missing/
https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/14/europe/migrant-ship-sinks-greek-coast-intl/index.html

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Wonderful work on your fact-check. Your explanation is organized (nice work numbering your facts), clear, concise, and is rooted in a solid source. Good work.

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I appreciate how clear and easy to follow this was. Numbering each answer made it easy to find which section you were directly answering. Also, the source that you picked is reliable which is very important to a good factcheck.

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This is a great, detailed fact-check, and I appreciate the organization and numbering in your response.

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I was very interested in your second point and had no idea there is conspiracy that the boat was sunk on purpose.  This source I found from Aljazeera, claims that the nine people arrested were cross referenced as being potential organizers of this migration.  The organization charged poeple $4,000-$5,000 US dollars for passage and in total made $3.5 million off of the smuggling disaster.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/15/greek-coast-guard-arrests-9-survivors-of-refugee-ship-sinking#:~:text=The%20Greek%20coastguard%20says%20nine,suspects%20were%20all%20Egyptian%20nationals.

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This was a very solid and informative fact-check! I liked how you organized the points to clarify the different factors of the story, and liked how you mentioned the source of the information!

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This fact-check looks very well-organized, and I like how you represented one source with extreme, thorough detail, but it also would've been effective to use other news sites as well, instead of just one (to make sure information is similar throughout other articles).

Answer 2

1) According to an article last updated on July 13, 2023 by the International Rescue Committee: "Despite a rescue mission that saved over 100 people, more than 80 have died. An estimated 500 more people are missing and feared to be dead."  https://www.rescue.org/article/greek-shipwreck-everything-you-need know#:~:text=Despite%20a%20rescue%20mission%20that,transparent%20investigation%20of%20the%20tragedy.

2) According to an article published on June 18, 2023 by the BBC, pictures show the overcrowded fishing vessel. "Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for migrants in trouble at sea, say they received a call at 12:17 GMT saying the boat was in distress." This was 3 hours after Greek authorities were alerted of the migrant boat. Despite what Greek authorities have claimed about the boat being in steady motion, two boats in the area were sent to give aid to the boat and it had not moved since the first emergency call previously stated. "The scale of the animated map suggests it travelled less than a few nautical miles, which may be expected of a stricken vessel buffeted by the wind and the waves in the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea. The actions of people in distress, rocking the vessel, would also have contributed any movement." 

3) Again from the BBC article, the Greek officials claim the boat was not in need of saving, so the coastguard didn't attempt to rescue. "The UN has called for an investigation into Greece's handling of the disaster, amid claims more action should have been taken earlier to initiate a full-scale rescue attempt." https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-65942426 

Comments

How would you rate the claim? Don't forget to select a rating for each fact-check (re: true, false, misleading, etc.). Thanks!

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I like how you formatted this response. it was clear and easy to read so it was easy to find where you sided. Great use of sources!

Answer 3

It's True. At least 78 people were confirmed dead after a migrant boat capsized and sank off the Greek coast, a figure determined through body counts and survivor accounts. The UN migration agency, IOM, estimated that the boat carried 700 to 750 people based on interviews with survivors, indicating that hundreds are still missing and feared dead.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/78-dead-hundreds-still-missing-after-migrant-boat-sinks-off-greek-coast#:~:text=At%20least%2078%20people%20died.&text=Rescuers%20saved%20104%20passengers%20from,have%20been%20trapped%20below%20deck.

Answer 4

This is true. At least 78 people did pass away after the migrant boat sunk. I got my evidence from the CNN who reported this on June 14th, 2023.

"At least 78 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."

CNN is a very credible news network and used the words from the international organization of migration themselves.

Comments

Don't forget to include a hyperlink to all your sources within each fact-check. Thanks!