There were at least 209 Pakistani “victims” on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece, data shared with Reuters by a Pakistani investigative agency on Thursday showed.
The data shared by the Federal Investigation Agency said 181 were from Pakistan and 28 from Pakistan-administered Kashmir, adding that DNA samples from 201 families had been gathered by officials to help Greece identify those missing.
It was not immediately clear on what basis the agency had identified them as victims, with the official toll from the accident still at 82 and survivors at 104, of which 12 are Pakistanis. Hundreds are believed to have been on board the vessel.
In order to identify the bodies, authorities in Pakistan have started collecting DNA samples from the victims families.
Camp offices have been established in Islamabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir, and other necessary locations, while also identifying and disseminating information regarding suitable places for DNA sampling.
Assisting the families and relatives of the passengers in obtaining DNA samples, according to the parameters specified by the Embassy of Pakistan in Greece, is another responsibility of the coordination cell.
Furthermore, it will coordinate with the Punjab Forensic Science Agency (PFSA) to prepare DNA reports and facilitate their transmission to Greece.
The Ministry of Interior has also set up a coordination cell in its control room to provide updates and information regarding the victims of the tragic boat incident in Greece.
A control room has been established in the interior ministry for information related to the Greece boat accident, which will coordinate between Greece and Pakistan, said a notification.
Places would be determined for DNA samples to verify the heirs of the deceased and facilities would be provided to the families of the victims for DNA, it added.
The notification said that separate camps would be set up in Islamabad and AJK.
Dozens of youths from Pakistan went missing after a boat packed with migrants capsized off the coast of Greece.
Mirpur’s Commissioner Chaudhry Shaukat Ali said on Saturday that around 50 young men from AJK were missing after the accident.
They belonged to the Kotli area of the region, he said in a statement, and claimed that they left the country three months ago.
An overloaded boat sank in open seas off Greece on June 14. Around 750 people on board, according to a European rescue support charity.
Earlier in the day, the foreign affairs said that at least 12 Pakistanis were among the survivors.
“At this stage, we are unable to verify the number and identity of Pakistani nationals among the deceased,” ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in a tweet.
People seeking missing relatives were urged to share with the ministry identity documents and DNA reports from authenticated laboratories, she said.
