Pakistan’s interior minister has said an estimated 350 Pakistanis were on board an overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants that sank off Greece last week.
Rana Sanaullah Khan told legislators in the National Assembly that many remain missing and may have died in one of the deadliest incidents of its kind in the central Mediterranean Sea.
Mr Khan added that an estimated 700 migrants were on the boat when it sank on June 14.
Only 104 people, including 12 Pakistanis, were rescued, while 82 bodies have been recovered.
Mr Khan said many of the missing Pakistanis are feared dead. “So far, 281 families have contacted the government saying their sons or dear ones might have been among those who were on the boat,” he said.
The minister’s comments shocked the legislators, many of whom appeared distressed as he spoke.
It marks the first time that a senior official has reported that so many Pakistani citizens are missing since the boat sank.
Officials are currently collecting DNA samples from people who say their relatives were on the vessel to help in the identification of bodies.
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