Greece boat sinking: Nine arrested as hope fades for missing migrants

That could make the sinking one of the deadliest ever in the central Mediterranean Sea.

The coast guard said on Thursday that it had arrested nine survivors on suspicion of belonging to the smuggling ring that arranged the voyage. Kassem Abu Zeed said he caught the first flight from Germany to Greece after realising that his wife and brother-in-law were on board the trawler. Mr Abu Zeed, a Syrian refugee living in Hamburg, said Esra Aoun and her brother Abdullah risked the dangerous crossing from Libya to Italy after they failed to find a legal way to join him in Germany.

“Those smugglers were supposed to only have 500 on the boat and now we hear there were 750. What is this? Are they cattle or humans? How can they do this?” Mr Marwan said. He said each of his relatives paid $6,000 for the trip. A little later, Greek search-and-rescue officials reached someone on the boat by satellite phone, who repeatedly said that passengers needed food and water but wanted to continue to Italy.

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