Hundreds of lives could have been saved in the great boat tragedy in the Mediterranean in mid-June, according to an investigation by The New York Times.
The authorities followed the boat for 13 hours before it sank – but did not intervene.
It has been called one of the worst tragedies ever in the Mediterranean. The men sat tightly packed on the deck. Women and children were trapped in the cargo hold.
From the air and the sea, with the help of radar, telephone and radio, the authorities were able to follow the migrant boat Adriana hour after hour. How the overloaded fishing boat drifted around, and finally sank.
The boat was on a steady course towards Italy and people on board refused any kind of help. This was claimed by the coast guard in Greece early after the accident.
But in fact, the boat drifted aimlessly for at least six and a half hours before it sank, new satellite images obtained by The New York Times show.
The images — along with legal documents, more than 20 interviews with survivors and authorities, and radio signals from the final hours — suggest the tragedy need not have been as extensive as it became, according to the newspaper’s mapping of the events.
Concern spread
Survivors testify to a difficult situation on board. The boat was overloaded, according to some estimates there were up to 750 people on board.
During the journey from Libya to Italy, the drinking water on board ran out. Concern spread when it became clear that the captain – a 22-year-old man from Egypt – had lost his course. Pakistanis locked below deck were beaten when they tried to climb up, according to witnesses.
By day four of the journey, at least six people, including a child, had died, according to testimony from survivors.
When the boat then suffered an engine failure, emergency calls were sent to the Italian authorities.
Drove aimlessly
The EU’s border agency Frontex was contacted, and its staff were able to locate the boat using an aircraft at lunchtime on 13 June. Two hours later, a helicopter from the Greek Coast Guard also flew by.
That same evening, Greek authorities asked two nearby ships to supply the migrant boat with water, food and diesel.
An important reason for not rescuing the boat was that it was on a steady course towards Italy, according to the Coast Guard.
But by this time, the craft had already reached as far as it would come towards Italy, images from the European Space Agency Esa show. After that, the boat drifted aimlessly, in circles and backwards in its course, for at least six and a half hours.
“Swinged dangerously”
As night fell, one of the ships that had arrived with supplies raised the alarm that the migrant boat was “rocking dangerously”.
A Dane with a yacht nearby says he heard two mayday calls that night. But it wasn’t until midnight that a vessel from the Greek Coast Guard arrived.
The vessel stayed close to the migrant boat for approximately three hours. Meanwhile, among other things, a tow line was thrown at the boat.
Once the overcrowded boat sank – about seven miles off the southwest coast of the Greek peninsula Peloponnese – it was a matter of minutes. The people trapped in the hold had no chance, and those on deck fell into the water. A total of 104 people could be rescued.
There was time for action
It is not certain that the vessel from the Greek coast guard would have been able to receive everyone who was on board the fishing boat, according to The New York Times. A rescue effort could also have resulted in the overcrowded boat capsizing.
But there had been time to send other ships – which also had medical resources – in the 13 hours that passed after Frontex was alerted, the paper notes.
The boat’s captain died in the accident. Shortly afterwards, nine men were arrested on suspicion of human smuggling. Smugglers usually only get paid when the boat has reached its destination.