At least 79 people were killed when a fishing boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of Greece and hundreds more are missing.
The boat’s captain and eight other people were arrested on suspicion of smuggling after the disaster on June 14.
Conflicting reports about the boat’s location and condition have cast doubt on whether the Greek authorities did enough to help the migrants.
This could be one of the deadliest refugee shipwrecks recorded, after a ship sank in April 2015 killing up to 700 migrants.
Investigations are under way and this is what we know so far.
How many people were onboard the boat?
Coastguard spokesman Nikos Alexiou has said that it was impossible to accurately estimate the number of people on the boat.
However, Ioannis Zafiropoulos, deputy mayor of the southern port city of Kalamata, said that he believes there were “more than 500 people” on board. Some witnesses have even said there were up to 750 people on board, including up to as many as 100 children. The International Organization for Migration and UNHCR estimate that between 400 and 750 people were onboard.
Around 100 people have been rescued, but hundreds of people are missing. Rescue volunteer Constantinos Vlachonikolos said nearly all the survivors were men. The survivors included 30 people from Egypt, 10 from Pakistan, 35 from Syria and two Palestinians.
Why did the boat sink?
On Wednesday morning, the boat began to rock violently and then sank, according to a coastguard statement. Experts believe the boat may have experienced trouble with the engine or run out of fuel, and that a movement of passengers may have caused the boat to list and capsize.
The issues with the boat may have become apparent the day before it sank. Alarm Phone, a helpline for people crossing the Mediterranean Sea, said it had been “alerted by a boat in distress” on Tuesday.
Authorities in Italy, Greece and Malta were reportedly alerted to the ship being in distress, as reported by Al Jazeera.
Greek authorities said that they made contact with the boat but that it did not request assistance. However, NGOs have criticised the Greek authorities for failing to help sooner.
Where did the boat come from and where was it going?
The boat is believed to have left from eastern Libya. The country is one of the main departure points for people attempting to reach Europe on boats arranged by human traffickers.
The boat was heading towards Italy but sank around 50 miles off the coast of Greece. Survivors were taken to the port of Kalamata.
