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Migrants who survived devastating shipwreck off Greece still seeking justice

MIGRANTS who survived a devastating shipwreck off the coast of Greece last year are still seeking justice over the authorities’ handling of the tragedy.

A year ago on Friday, the Adriana, an old metal fishing boat carrying about 750 migrants from north Africa to Europe, sunk in international waters 45 nautical miles off Pylos.

Just 104 people survived and only 82 bodies were recovered.

Hundreds of families have not received closure on whether their loved ones are dead or alive.

Elwan, a cook whose wife and children are in Cairo, says he still receives phone calls from mothers, brothers and wives of the missing in Egypt.

“We [left] home to get best life for family and until now [their families] know nothing about them,” he said.

Elwan said he was struggling to sleep, adding: “I remember every second that happened to me.

“I can’t forget anything because [I] lost friends in this ship.”

Migrant charities and human rights groups have strongly criticised Greece’s handling of the sinking and its aftermath.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said today that “a credible process for accountability” was needed.

“It is unconscionable that, one year since this horrific tragedy, the investigation into the potential liability of [Greece’s] coastguard has barely progressed,” Human Rights Watch official Judith Sunderland said in the group’s joint statement.

Pakistani survivor Zeeshan Sarwar, 28, said he was still waiting for justice, “but apparently there is nothing.”

“I may be looking fine right now, but I am broken from the inside. We are not getting justice,” he said.

“We are not receiving any information about the people of [the] coastguard … that the court has found them guilty or not.”

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