Echelons of the Police, the Coast Guard, the Fire Brigade, the local government, but also organizations and volunteers set up mobile business centers which had been set up since Wednesday and are vacating the site after the departure for the structure of Malakasa of the 71 rescued migrants from the wreck off the coast of Pylos. Inside the warehouse one sees a “mountain” of mattresses and blankets, bags of clothes, shoes and food as well as lifeboats. Since Wednesday, people on board the fishing ship, which sank near the deepest part of the Mediterranean, have been staying in this area, shocked by what had happened, worrying about the fate of their relatives who were on the same ship and waiting to contact someone of their own. .

According to the latest data 30 people remain hospitalized in the Kalamata hospital, most of them are in good condition, while as the commander of the 6th Ministry of Health, Giannis Karvelis, emphasized to the Athens Agency, they were more concerned with a case of a 16-year-old with respiratory problems, however, he was given treatment and is steadily showing an improved condition.

However, it is noted that among the hospitalized is one of the arrested, who are alleged to be the traffickers of the immigrants.

The brothers from Syria reunited and the frantic searches of relatives

The image of the two Syrian brothers embracing through the railings at the port in Kalamata and kissing each other on the forehead and on the cheek with tears in their eyes has gone around the world. But the story behind this family is equally moving. We met them by chance in front of the hotel where we were staying during the Agency’s mission in Kalamata and as they told the Athens Agency their family is from Aleppo, Syria. In recent years, however, due to the situation in their country, they were forced to leave and disperse to different European countries. The first brother lives in Germany and works in a large multinational company, Fardi, who is the second brother, lives in the Netherlands and works in a restaurant while 18-year-old Mohammed would be the last to leave Syria bound for Italy. Either to get a job there or to be able to reunite with one of his other two brothers. Finally, all three brothers managed to meet in Greece, between the railings that separated them, and as the two oldest told the Athens Agency, they will leave for Malakasa to see their brother, see if he is okay and find out who it will be his fate from here on out.

Searches, however, for relatives of migrants on board the fishing vessel continue unabated. As the mayor of Kalamata, Thanasis Vassilopoulos, pointed out to the Athens Agency, the Civil Protection office of the municipality receives a barrage of calls from relatives who are looking for their relatives and who knew they were on the particular boat. Most of the callers, according to Mr. Vassilopoulos, live in Germany and are anxiously seeking information.

The testimonies of the survivors

“It sank, it fell, the engine stopped. We couldn’t find anyone,” said one of the rescued people while speaking to the media during the transfer to the Malacca City Hospital. “I don’t know how many children and women were on board. I can not remember. We did not say no to the help of the Greek authorities. The Greek authorities offered help. I don’t know what happened,” he said.

The testimony of a 24-year-old Syrian refugee dentist was conveyed by the municipal councilor of Kalamata, Tasos Polychronopoulos. As he said, at the time of departure, the 24-year-old heard that the fishing boat had 750 people. “On the way, as he himself testifies, they said during the departure, 750 people, we closed”, said Mr. Polychronopoulos. “He tied the Coast Guard boat to them with some rope and tried to tow them by pulling the boat to the left and suddenly, for reasons he didn’t understand, it veered to the right and the boat sank in a flash, which is witnessed and crossed by other news unfortunately. This is his testimony”, pointed out Mr. Polychronopoulos.