The inhumane conditions that prevailed on the ship that was wrecked off Pylos and followed by the slave traders are described by the survivors with statements – “fire”.
According to the testimonies, even a change of seat from inside the ship to the deck had an extra charge.

“At first they had made me sit inside the ship, but because I was dizzy I paid €50 to a circuit person and he took me to the deck. We were traveling for 4 days, they gave us little food and dirty water” says one of the survivors

“At night, the traffickers had turned off the boat’s engines so that the ships passing by would not hear any noise. Some of the Egyptians asked for water from a passing ship. The crew of a ship threw water but the Egyptians took it all and did not give it to us. We fought with each other and then they gave us water too” also reported rescued.

For the moment when the ship started to take on water, you were rescued, he says: “The boat started taking on water. Then we all moved to the other side and because the weight went to the other side the boat started to sink. Some jumped into the sea and some others were holding on to different parts of the boat.”

“59 gave us water and even scared us into sitting still and the person with the number 74 was the one who put us from the small boat to the big one. We were all piled up and the engine broke down and we were out of control. Then it sank causing many people to drown” describes being rescued.

However, the testimony of the captain of the port boat who was near the fatal boat at the time of the wreck is also revealing.

“After tying from our bow to the bow of the fishing boat, voices were heard in the English language “No Help”, “Go Italy” and despite repeated appeals if they want help – assistance they ignored us and around 23:57 they untied the cable that we had given them. Being at a distance of 70 meters from the boat, I realized that this boat had started to tilt a lot while there was a lot of disturbance and shouting among the passengers. In less than a minute the boat capsized.”

What the accusers claim

All the defendants will be brought to the prosecutor’s office on Monday morning, with the charges of forming a criminal organization related to the illegal trafficking of irregular immigrants, causing a shipwreck by negligence and endangering life.

However, one of the arrested finally denied being one of the traffickers.
“On my own initiative, I wanted to put order. We were overcrowded on board. I wanted to help. I’m not a trafficker”

At the same time, investigations at the wreck site continue without locating any missing persons. Authorities agree that 747 people were on board the fatal ship.