MAYAN QUEEN IV

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Yacht participated in SAR operation after migrant tragedy off Pylos

The 'Mayan Queen' was among the several rescue forces and carried 100 migrants to Kalamata after the sinking of a 30-m-fishing boat en route from Tpbruk, carrying hundreds of migrants in international waters off the coast of the Peloponnese, 47 nautical miles southwest of Pylos, on June 14, 2023. Four people have been transported by a Super Puma helicopter of the Air Force to Kalamata, where they were picked up by two ambulances and transferred to the General Hospital of Kalamata. The confirmed body count was at 78 as of June 15. The SAR operation to locate more persons missing at sea continued through the night in the area around the shipwreck, without success, as the number of persons rescued remained at 104 and no new dead bodies were recovered. Two coast guard vessels, a helicopter and six ships sailing in the area were participating in the search. About 30 dead bodies were loaded onto refrigerator trucks at Kalamata port, and samples will be taken from them for DNA analysis to aid in identification. The survivors that were not taken to hospital spent the night in a specially adapted area in the port. Police, fire brigade and coast guard vehicles and personnel arrived at the port early in the morning to provide assistance in the operation, along with trucks bringing food and water. The survivors were exhausted, both physically and mentally, and in need of psychosocial support, while many had been prescribed medication that the Red Cross was preparing to procure for them. The survivors of the shipwreck were all men, aged between 16 and 40 years old, and the problems reported were mainly hypothermia, fainting and hypoglycemic episodes and pneumonia. Survivors have suggested as many as 750 people mainly from Egypt, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Palestinian territories may have been packed on to the vessel, with reports of 100 children in the hold, making the sinking one of the biggest ever migrant tragedies. On June 13 around 11:00 a.m. the MRCC Rome informed that there was a fishing vessel with a large number of migrants (in international waters southwest of the Peloponnese, following a call from the NGO activists of Alarm Phone. The Greek Coast Guard proceeded with the verification process. A helicopte took off at around 1:50 p.m. from Mytilini bound for the fishing boat. At 3:35 p.m. it was spotted by the helicopter, sailing with a steady course and speed, having a sufficient number of people on its outer decks. -Immediately after the detection by the helicopter, ships sailing in the area were informed and they were asked to change their course and to inform the EKSED about the movements and the general condition of the fishing vessel. -At the same time, a 40-meter ship of the Coast Guard was ordered to sail from Chania to the Ionian Sea. -The first contact with the fishing vessel was at around 2 p.m. - The fishing vessel did not request any assistance from the Coast Guard and Greece. - a second take-off of the helicopter was at around 6 p.m., where again it was found that the boat was sailing with a constant course and speed. - The EKSED was contacted by satellite phone at around 6.30 p.m. The satellite phone user on board the boat, who spoke English, replied that the boat was not in danger, they wanted no help other than food and water, and that they wished to continue on to Italy. -The EKSED sent a Maltese-flagged vessel which approached the fishing vessel around 6 p.m., and after the fishing vessel stopped - as requested by the commercial vessel - supplied it with food and water. -Repeatedly the fishing vessel was asked by the merchant ship if it wanted additional assistance or if it was in danger or if it wanted anything else from Greece. They replied "we want nothing more than to go on to Italy". - A Greek ship was sent to the fishing vessel at around 9 p.m. in order to provide additional food supplies and any other assistance. They received only the water, while the other supplies were thrown into the sea. -From 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. the operations room of the Ministry of Shipping had repeated communication with the fishing vessel via satellite phone. In all of them they consistently repeated that they wished to sail to Italy and did not want any assistance from Greece. -At 10:40 p.m. the Coast Guard vessel from Crete sailed near the fishing boat. It remained at a distance and discreetly observed it, not finding any problem in its navigation, as it had a steady course and speed. -This continued until June 14 at 01:40 a.m. At that time, a person on board the fishing vessel informed the Headquarters Operations Center that the vessel's engine had malfunctioned and it had stopped moving. - This was also confirmed by the Coast Guard's vessel which immediately tried to approach the fishing vessel to determine the problem. -At 2.04 a.m. the commander of the patrol boat informed the Operations Center that he saw the fishing vessel heeled sharp to starboard side and then to port side and then another to starboard bank so great that it resulted in the fishing vessel capsizing. -In ten to 15 minutes the boat completely sank. A number of passengers on the outer decks fell into the sea. The boat went down about 80 kilometers southwest of Pylos in a water depth of around 5.200 meters. An SAR operation was triggered but complicated by strong winds. Reports with photos: https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/1213280/kalamata-coast-guard-launches-inquiry-into-deadly-migrant-shipwreck/ https://www.lkz.de/%C3%BCberregionales_artikel,-dutzende-tote-migranten-bei-bootsunglueck-in-griechenland-_arid,739453.html https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/jamestown/ap-online/2023/06/14/greece-more-than-100-migrants-rescued-from-capsized-fishing-vessel https://www.hcg.gr/el/drasthriothtes/synexeia-enhmerwshs-anaforika-me-eyreia-epixeirhsh-ereynas-kai-diaswshs-allodapwn-se-die8nh-ydata-sth-8alassia-perioxh-47-nm-notiodytika-pyloy__/

MAYAN QUEEN IV 1009479

She was in Nesebar, Bulgaria Harbor on 2. August 2010