Three Egyptians have been identified among the victims of the boat that sank off Greece’s coast last month, the Egyptian embassy in Athens said in a statement on Monday.
In June, dozens of irregular migrants died after their sailboat sank off the coast of Greece while en route from Libya to Italy.
According to media reports, most of the people on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan,
The Greek authorities informed the Egyptian embassy that 14 bodies among the victims were identified, including those of three Egyptians, a statement issued by the embassy read.
The statement added that the bodies of the three Egyptians have been returned to their families.
Egyptian officials said that 43 Egyptians, including five minors and 38 men, survived the shipwreck, whereas the number of Egyptians who could be missing remains unclear.
Following the incident, Egypt set up a workgroup to guide families of victims and missing migrants through the process of identifying bodies.
In its statement, the embassy said it had earlier handed over to the Greek side all the samples of the DNA tests received from the Egyptian families to help identify the victims’ bodies as soon as possible.
The embassy noted that any other bodies identified by the Geek authorities will be brought home.
Egypt has stepped up its efforts to deal with irregular migration since 2016 when it launched its first national strategy addressing the issue.
The strategy embraces a multi-pronged approach. It encompasses Law 82/2016, which sets out stiff penalties and criminalizes all forms of migrant smuggling.
The law was toughened in 2022, raising fines and punishing those who fail to report the crime.
Source : Ahram