Heard this on a NPR program interviewing a survivor of the capsizing of the fishing trawler carrying hundreds of migrants. Unfortunately I can’t find the program to provide a link. If a more industrious person can link it in the comments, I would be appreciative. Here is a link to a CNN story that shares much of the same information.
The situation on the vessel was dire, for 3 days there was no food and the only water available was seawater and the boat’s water that was contaminated with urine. The boat’s captain had passed away and the other person who could operate the boat was afraid of being arrested and chose to blend in with the migrants (he also perished before the calamity). A couple commercial ships provided some water and food but no other assistance, and fights broke out over the limited supplies.
A Greek Coast Guard ship approached and after some time they attempted to tow the boat to Italian waters. According to the interviewee “a child would have been done better job” of the tying up. The ship then proceeded to tow the boat at speed, and shortly thereafter the boat lurched to the left and in short order capsized. The ship then sped off, still in sight but far enough away to make swimming to it very difficult, especially after 3 days of no food or water. The interviewee made the attempt anyways and was rescued by them.
This incident is reprehensible, and I have a strong suspicion the captain of the Coast Guard ship didn’t make the determination to tow the boat to Italian waters so it would be Italy’s problem to deal with. Since Greece is part of the EU, Brussels needs to conduct an inquiry and determine who was responsible for that decision and bring them to justice.
(minor editing to replace ship with boat when referring to fishing trawler)