Canada Global (Web News) As over 290 Pakistanis are presumed dead in a shipwreck in the southern part of Greece, National Assembly Speaker Raja Parvez Ashraf has urged the government to take severe action against the people traffickers.
The chair of the assembly voiced regret about the deaths of migrants, including those from Pakistan, in the boat disaster at one of its sessions. He said that the incidence merited the attention of the authorities and that people smuggling was a serious offence.
The number and identities of Pakistani citizens among the fatalities have not yet been confirmed, according to the Foreign Office, which also said that 12 Pakistanis in total have been identified among the survivors of the overturned boat off the coast of Greece.
In a press release, FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the Pakistan Mission in Greece, led by Ambassador Aamar Aftab, stayed in touch with the local authorities to identify and retrieve Pakistani nationals who were among the dead and to provide aid to the survivors.
In order to identify the 78 retrieved bodies, “Our Mission” is still in touch with the Greek government. According to the spokeswoman, this identifying method would involve DNA matching with immediate family members (only parents and children).
Families of potential passengers aboard the tragic boat were urged to get in touch with Pak Mission in Greece via the 24-hour helplines in order to verify their identities. Additionally, they were instructed to send info@pakistanembassy.gr DNA tests from accredited laboratories and the passenger’s identity credentials.
A migrant boat that capsized off the coast of Greece still had up to 500 people missing, according to UN human rights authorities. The “horrific tragedy” that claimed 78 lives also left a number of women and children missing.
According to foreign media, the fishing boat carrying up to 750 people capsized 50 nautical miles off Pylos in southern Greece.
