Shipwreck in Pylos: Over 300 Pakistani immigrants lost their lives

As questions mount over the role of the coast guard, grim new details come to light about the Pylos shipwreck, one of the deadliest, revealing the refugee crisis facing the European Union as tens of thousands of people seek refuge from war, persecution and poverty.

As CNN reports, more than 300 Pakistani nationals were killed in the wreck. The outlet cited the president of Pakistan’s Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, who disclosed the numbers in a statement on Sunday, sending condolences to the families of the dead.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with you and we pray that the souls of the departed find eternal peace,” Sanjrani said. “This devastating incident highlights the urgent need to address and condemn the heinous act of human trafficking.”

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared Monday a national day of mourning for those who lost their lives in the wreck. In a tweet on Sunday, he ordered a “high-level investigation” into the incident. “I assure the nation that those found derelict in their duty will be held accountable. Responsibility will be determined after investigation and heads will fall,” Sharif wrote.

It is recalled that the Pakistani authorities announced yesterday that they had arrested ten people suspected of involvement in human trafficking.

“They send them to their deaths”

About 750 men, women and children were on board the overcrowded ship when it capsized last week, according to the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM), killing hundreds of people and making the tragedy one of the worst in the Mediterranean Sea, according to with EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson.

Johansson condemned the role of traffickers. “They don’t send them to Europe, they send them to death. This is what they are doing and it is absolutely necessary to prevent it,” he said.