Greece: Rescue hopes fade for hundreds feared missing in migrant boat tragedy

ITV News correspondent Romilly Weeks is in Greece and has been speaking to the desperate relatives of people still missing following the capsize

Relatives of as many as 750 people still missing after a ship crammed with migrants sank in the Mediterranean Sea have gathered in southern Greece to search for answers.

At least 78 people died in Tuesday's incident with a further 104 men and boys rescued.

But the death toll is feared to be much higher, with hundreds of passengers still unaccounted for and eyewitness accounts stating that many were trapped within the hold of the ship.

Greek authorities have arrested nine survivors - all Egyptian - on suspicion of people smuggling.

The boat sank near the deepest part of the Mediterranean, where depths can reach up to 5,200 metres.

Kassem Abu Zeed is among the relatives of those still missing to have gathered in the southern Greek port of Kalamata.

He said he caught the first flight from Germany to Greece after realising that his wife and brother-in-law were aboard the ship.

"The last time we spoke was eight days ago, and [my wife] told me that she was getting ready to get on the boat," he told the Associated Press.

He said she had paid $5,000 (£3,900) for passage onto the ship, which had been destined to travel from Libya to Italy.

Mr Abu Zeed, a 34-year-old Syrian refugee living in Hamburg, said Esra Aoun, 21, and her 19-year-old brother, Abdullah, risked the dangerous crossing after they failed to find a legal way to join him in Germany.

He now accepts the chances of finding his wife alive are slim, but hopes that his brother-in-law is among the survivors taken ashore.

Greek coast guard Admiral Nikos Spanos told the ERT television channel the chances of finding more survivors "are minimal".

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The United Nations (UN) migration agency, known as IOM, has estimated that at least 40 children are among those thought to be missing. The estimation was based on interviews conducted with survivors.

Mohamed Abdi Marwan, who spoke by phone from Kobani, a Kurdish majority town in Syria, said five of his relatives were on the boat, including a 14-year-old.

He said he has heard nothing about them since the ship sank.

"Those smugglers were supposed to only have 500 on the boat and now we hear there were 750. What is this? Are they cattle or humans? How can they do this?," he said.

Greek authorities have come under criticism for not acting quickly enough to rescue the migrants.

A coast guard vessel escorted the ship for hours, before watching helplessly as it sank.

Authorities have argued that the migrants repeatedly refused assistance and insisted on continuing their journey to Italy.

Human rights groups say a European Union (EU) crackdown on smuggling has forced people to take longer, more dangerous routes to reach safe countries.

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