'Around 100 children' were on board migrant boat that capsized off coast of Greece

Greek authorities confirmed at least 78 people have died as reports come in that as many as 100 children were on board, ITV News Correspondent Romilly Weeks reports

Around 100 children are thought to have been on board a ship crammed with migrants that capsized off the coast of Greece, survivors have said.

At least 78 died in Tuesday's incident and hundreds of people are still feared missing.

The vessel was on its way from Libya to Italy when it sank near southern Greece.

Rescue workers managed to save 104 passengers, including migrants from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Palestine.

Officials have estimated that the vessel was carrying as many as 750 passengers based on interviews with survivors. Images suggest that some passengers were travelling in the hold.

On Wednesday, the Hellenic Coastguard said that none of dozens they rescued were wearing a life jacket, or carrying any life-saving equipment.

Authorities believe that hundreds of others may have been trapped below deck, with a former Greek coast guard admiral calling the boat a 'floating coffin'.

If that is confirmed, that would make the maritime tragedy one of the worst of its kind ever recorded in the central Mediterranean.

Authorities revised the confirmed death toll from 79 following an overnight count of the bodies.

“The survivors are in a very difficult situation. Right now they are in shock,” Erasmia Roumana, head of a United Nations Refugee Agency delegation, said after meeting the rescued migrants in a storage hangar in the southern port of Kalamata.

“They want to get in touch with their families to tell them they are OK, and they keep asking about the missing. Many have friends and relatives unaccounted for.”

In other developments, nine survivors were arrested on suspicion of belonging to the smuggling ring that arranged the voyage, the coast guard said. State-run ERT TV said the suspects were all Egyptian nationals.

Greece declared three days of mourning and politicians suspended campaigning for a general election on June 25.

Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, said she was “deeply saddened” by the tragedy and promised to strengthen cooperation between the EU and nearby countries to try to further crack down on migrant smugglers.

But human rights groups argue the crackdown means migrants and refugees are being forced to take longer and more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.

The search operation south of Greece’s Peloponnese region failed to locate any more bodies or survivors overnight or early Thursday.

“The chances of finding (more survivors) are minimal,” retired Greek coast guard admiral Nikos Spanos told state-run ERT television.

“We have seen old fishing boats like this before from Libya: They are about 30 metres (100-feet) long and can carry 600-700 people when crammed full. But they are not at all seaworthy.

"To put it simply, they are floating coffins.”

Coast guard experts believe the boat may have sunk after running out of fuel or suffering engine trouble, with movement of passengers inside the vessel causing it to list and ultimately capsize.

An aerial photograph of the vessel before it sank released by Greek authorities showed people crammed on the deck. Most were not wearing life jackets.

“We are witnessing one of the biggest tragedies in the Mediterranean, and the numbers announced by the authorities are devastating,” said Gianluca Rocco, head of the Greek section of IOM, the UN migration agency.

The IOM has recorded more than 21,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014.

Greece’s coast guard said it was notified by Italian authorities of the trawler’s presence in international waters.

It said efforts by its own ships and merchant vessels to assist the boat were repeatedly rejected, with people on board insisting they wanted to continue to Italy.

Twenty-nine of the survivors in southern Greece remain hospitalised, mostly with symptoms of hypothermia, while eight have been questioned by coast guard investigators.

Government officials said the survivors would be moved to a migrant shelter near Athens later on Thursday or Friday.

The spot is close to the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea, and depths of up to 17,000 ft (5,200m) could hamper any effort to locate a sunken vessel.

The IOM said initial reports suggested up to 400 people were aboard. A network of activists said it received a distress call from a boat in the same area whose passengers said it carried 750 people.

The Mediterranean’s deadliest shipwreck in living memory occurred on April 18, 2015, when an overcrowded fishing boat collided off Libya with a freighter trying to come to its rescue. Only 28 people survived.

Forensic experts concluded that there were originally 1,100 people on board.

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