Greek court charges 17 coastguards over deadly 2023 Pylos shipwreck
A naval court in Greece has charged 17 members of the Greek coast guard over the deadly Pylos shipwreck in 2023.
The Adriana fishing boat, which departed Libya for Italy, sank on 14 June 2023 in international waters within the Greek search-and-rescue zone near the town of Pylos.
At least 82 bodies were recovered from the disaster, though up to 650 were feared dead. Hundreds of people, including women and children, were missing after being trapped below deck.
Only 104 of an estimated 750 passengers survived.
Survivors of the shipwreck told media that a botched attempt by Greek coastguards to tow the vessel had caused it to capsize.
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The deputy prosecutor of the Piraeus Naval Court indicted 17 Hellenic Coast Guard members, including the captain of the LS-920 coastguard vessel.
The captain faces charges of “causing a shipwreck”, “dangerous interference of maritime transport” and “failure to provide assistance”.
Other crew members were charged with “complicity” in acts committed by the captain.
Reports by rights groups and watchdogs, based on survivors’ testimonies, pointed to the role of the Hellenic Coast Guard in precipitating the wreck, by first delaying its rescue response and then attempting to tow the boat.
Survivors told the BBC that the Greek vessel attached a rope to the fishing boat and moved off quickly, causing it to flip.
They said that once the survivors had reached land, they were told to keep quiet about how events had unfolded.
In February, leaked audio recordings revealed that Greek rescue coordinators instructed the captain of the Adriana fishing boat to tell an approaching ship that those on board did not want to go to Greece - contradicting the coastguard’s account of the incident.
The coastguard has maintained that the people aboard were not at risk and did not request assistance and insisted they wanted to go to Italy and not Greece.
A joint legal team representing victims and survivors welcomed the decision by authorities to pursue charges.
“Almost two years after the Pylos shipwreck, the prosecution and referral to main investigation for felonies of 17 members of the Coast Guard, including senior officers of its leadership, constitutes a substantial and self-evident development in the course of vindication of the victims and the delivery of justice," the legal team said.
The 17 men are set to be questioned in the coming weeks by the naval court’s deputy prosecutor.
The court will then decide whether a full trial will go ahead, or if the charges will be dismissed.
The Greek government told the BBC that its coast guard fully respects human rights and has rescued over 250,000 people at sea in the past ten years.
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