Egypt forms special working group to identify victims of shipwreck off Greek coast

CAIRO – 19 June 2023: Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has formed a special working group to receive information about the victims of the illegal migration shipwreck off the Geek coast in the Mediterranean Sea.

Families of the victims and missing persons can contact the working group to provide information that helps identify the victims, said the Ministry in a statement on Monday.

Relatives can meet the working group staff at the headquarters of the Office of Consular Affairs for Citizens, Foreigners and Certifications at 7 Lazoghli Street - Garden City - Isis Building, First Floor – Cairo. Or relatives can contact the group staff on the following phone numbers: 02-27923050/02-27923060/02-27954305.

Forming the working group comes in light of a follow-up on the situation of the shipwreck with the Egyptian Embassy in Athens and the concerned Greek authorities to check on the conditions of the survivors, and to work to obtain information regarding the identity of the missing and the recovered victims.

 The fishing boat capsized off the coast of Greece and led to the drowning of hundreds of refugees in the Mediterranean Sea on June 14. The Greek Coast Guard said that 104 people have been rescued as of June 16 and 78 bodies have been recovered, said the Greek Coast Guard in a statement, adding that nine men, who are Egyptian [aged 26, 21, 40, 36, 32, 26, 22, 29 and 20 years old], from the rescued people were arrested for having “distinct roles in the transport of the rest.” The search and rescue operation is still ongoing.

The United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated more than 400 people were onboard the ship, adding that 104 survivors were brought to shore. On June 13, the IOM said that about 3,800 people lost their lives on migration routes in the MENA region in 2022.

“As I’ve said before - every person searching for a better life deserves safety & dignity,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a tweet about the incident.