At least 79 migrants dead and dozens missing after fishing boat capsizes off Greece

Hundreds of people are missing and at least 79 are confirmed dead after a small boat capsized in the Mediterranean, ITV News Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports

At least 79 people have died and dozens feared missing off the coast of southern Greece after a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized and sank.

A large search and rescue operation was launched in the area as authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far.

At least 25 of the survivors were hospitalised with symptoms of hypothermia, but it is unclear how many passengers might remain missing at sea, the Greek coast guard said.

An aerial photograph of the fishing boat, released by the Greek coast guard, showed people crammed onto the deck.

The incident occurred some 75 kilometres (46 miles) southwest of Greece's southern Peloponnese region on Wednesday - closest to one of the deepest areas of the Mediterranean Sea.

At the southern port of Kalamata, around 70 exhausted survivors bedded down in sleeping bags and blankets provided by rescuers in a large warehouse, while outside paramedics set up tents for anyone who needed first aid.

Katerina Tsata, head of a Red Cross volunteer group in Kalamata, said the migrants were also given psychological support.

“They suffered a very heavy blow, both physical and mental,” she said.

The survivors included 30 people from Egypt, 10 from Pakistan, 35 from Syria and two Palestinians.

The United Nations migration agency, IOM, said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were on board.

A network of activists said it received a distress call from a boat in the same area whose passengers said 750 people were on board, but it was not clear if that was the vessel that sank.

Coast guard spokesman Nikos Alexiou told state ERT TV that it was impossible to accurately estimate the number of passengers on the boat.

He said it appeared vessel capsized after people abruptly moved to one side.

He added: “The outer deck was full of people, and we presume that the interior (of the vessel) would also have been full.”

“It looks as if there was a shift among the people who were crammed on board, and it capsized.”

Six coastguard vessels, a navy frigate, a military transport plan, an air force helicopter, several private vessels and a drone from the European Union border protection agency, Frontex were taking part in the ongoing search.

The Italy-bound boat is believed to have sailed from the Tobruk area in eastern Libya.

Greece’s caretaker prime minister, Ioannis Sarmas, declared three days of national mourning.

She said “our thoughts [are with] all the victims of the ruthless smugglers who exploit human unhappiness".

Smugglers are increasingly taking larger boats into international waters off the Greek mainland to try to avoid local coastguard patrols.

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