The Greek authorities have reported this Thursday that at least nine Egyptians have been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking in the framework of investigations after the sinking of a boat off the Greek coast. with 500 migrants on boardwhich for the moment has resulted in 80 dead and hundreds missing.

The detainees face criminal charges for migrant smuggling and criminal organization, Although investigations continue into the conditionsthe causes and those responsible for the sinking of the fishing boat, which left Egypt, stopped in Libya and continued towards Italy.

The Greek authorities have informed the executive director of the European Border and Coast Guard Corps (Frontex), Hans Leijtens, about the details of the investigation from the port of Kalamatawhere the relatives of the survivors have been arriving in the last hours, as reported by the newspaper ‘Kathimerini’.

“I am in Greece after the tragic event of Pylos, to meet with the Hellenic Coast Guardto better understand what happened and explore how Frontex can help national authorities,” he said in a brief message on his Twitter profile.

The emergency services have recovered 104 people alive and, although they maintain the official death toll at 78It is estimated that several hundred more migrants were packed on board, anticipating one of the deadliest disasters in recent history.

The Greek Red Cross has launched a system to track missing migrants. Staff of the organization’s Central Tracing Agency (CTA), as well as the Restoration of Family Links program (RFL) has arrived in Kalamata to continue the rescue work.

“As time goes by, the chances of people surviving become less and less likely. People are exhausted because they have already been at sea for days: they are shocked and distraught. Many require urgent medical attention.“, explained a Hellenic Red Cross volunteer, Dimitris Chaliotis, in a statement.

For his part, the operations manager of the NGO, Frido Herinckx, has stated that it is “heartbreaking” and “unacceptable” the death of migrants at the borders of the European Union in 2023. “The first quarter of this year was already the deadliest on record on the Central Mediterranean route and this tragedy could be one of the worst in history,” he added.

Greek Coast Guard maintains active search and rescue deployment in the arealocated about 87 kilometers from the city of Pylos, in the Peloponnese region (south), although there is less and less hope of finding survivors.

The United Nations and NGOs dedicated to children have sounded the alarm this Thursday because there were probably close to a hundred children on the boatan “atrocity” that for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shows the need to work to prevent tragedies of this type.