Greece boat disaster: 800 were on board, says Pakistan police report
An aerial photo of the ill-fated boat on the open sea, off Greece. AFP
Pakistani authorities said they had arrested 14 suspects in connection with the alleged trafficking of migrants and police said they were searching for other suspects.
A statement from Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's office said the Pakistani government had ordered a high-level inquiry into the human trafficking network thought to be involved.
National flags were at half-mast on all official buildings on Monday in Pakistan, which was home to some of those who drowned last week.
The police report said one of those arrested had admitted to sending three men onto the boat, which had a capacity for 300-350 people, and had charged them each up to three million Pakistani rupees ($10,452.96).
The assessment 800 people were on board came from initial investigations, police officer Riaz Mughal said. "We learnt from two survivors, the arrested suspects and the bereaved families that the boat was carrying around 750 to 800 people," Mughal told Reuters.
Witness accounts had placed the number on board at between 400 and 750 people and Greek authorities have said 104 survivors and 78 bodies have been brought ashore. One of the suspects arrested in Pakistan said his own son had been on the boat, and was missing, the report said.
It also said the main suspect behind a smuggling network spanning Libya, Pakistan and Greece, was based in Libya.
Mughal said at least 21 of those who died last week came from the Kotli district in the Pakistani-administered part of the Himalayan Kashmir region, from which people have left for Europe for many years.
Senior Regional Police Officer Tahir Mahmood, based in Muzaffarabad, Kashmir's capital, said the police were hunting further suspects in addition to those arrested. He did not specify how many.
Reuters
Days of sweltering heat, power cuts in northern India overwhelm hospitals as death toll climbs to 170
A scorching heat wave in two of India’s most populous states has overwhelmed hospitals, filled a morgue to capacity and disrupted power supply, forcing staff to use books to cool patients, as officials investigate the number of deaths that has reached nearly 170.
In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, 119 people have died from heat-related illnesses over the last several days while neighboring Bihar state reported 47 fatalities, according to local news reports and health officials.
"So many people are dying from the heat that we are not getting a minute’s time to rest. On Sunday, I carried 26 dead bodies,” Jitendra Kumar Yadav, a hearse driver in Deoria town, 110 kilometres from Ballia, told The Associated Press.
Other residents said they were scared of going outside after midmorning.
The largest hospital in Ballia district in Uttar Pradesh is unable to accommodate more patients. Officials said the morgue was full after 54 people, all of whom were elderly suffering from various health issues, died during the heatwave. Some families were asked to take the bodies of their relatives home.
On Sunday, the state health minister, Brajesh Pathak, said a two-member team will look into what caused the large number of deaths and investigate how many of them are directly related to heat.
While northern regions of India are known for sweltering heat during the summer months, temperatures have been consistently above normal, according to the Indian Meteorological Department, with highs reaching 43.5˚C.
A heatwave is declared in India if temperatures are at least 4.5˚C above normal, or if the temperature is above 45˚C.
"We have been issuing heat wave warnings for the past few days,” said Atul Kumar Singh, a scientist at the IMD.
Despite the warnings, government officials did not ask people to brace for the heat until Sunday, when the death toll began to increase.
Adding to the heat stress are consistent power outages across the region, leaving people with no running water, fans or air conditioners.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the government was taking measures to ensure an uninterrupted power supply. He urged citizens to cooperate and use electricity judiciously.
"Every village and every city should receive adequate power supply during this scorching heat. If any faults occur, they should be promptly addressed,” he said Friday night in a statement.
Inside the Ballia district hospital, the chaotic scenes were reminiscent of the coronavirus pandemic, with families and doctors scrambling as many patients required urgent attention. The corridors smelled of urine, garbage and medical waste, and hospital walls were stained with betel leaf spit.
"All our staff has been here for three days straight and are completely overworked,” said Dr Aditya Singh, an emergency medical officer.
The wards in the hospital had no functioning air conditioners, and cooling units that were installed were not working properly due to power fluctuations. Attendants were fanning patients with books and wiping their sweat in an attempt to keep them cool.
Officials said more severe cases were being shifted to hospitals in bigger cities nearby such as Varanasi, and more doctors and medical resources were being sent to the district hospital to deal with the heat-induced crisis.
Climate experts say that heat waves will continue and India needs to prepare better to deal with their consequences. A study by World Weather Attribution, an academic group that examines the source of extreme heat, found that a searing heat wave in April that struck parts of South Asia was made at least 30 times more likely by climate change.
"Plans for dealing with heatwaves are essential for minimising their effects and preserving lives. These plans include all-inclusive approaches to dealing with high heat occurrences, such as public awareness campaigns, the provision of cooling centers, and healthcare assistance,” said Aditya Valiathan Pillai, an associate fellow at a New Delhi-based think-tank, Centre for Policy Research.
Associated Press
