Greece boat tragedy: Number of missing from PoK surges to 166

Mirpur [PoK], June 27 : In the Greece boat tragedy, the number of missing people from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir's Kotli district has surged to 166, confirmed Mirpur Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police Dr Khalid Mahmood Chauhan, according to Geo News.
On Monday, the Deputy Inspector General revealed that 88 more families of the boat case have contacted them. Earlier 50 families had contacted them.
The data was compiled at the local level with the help of local residents.
Dr Khalid further stated that after the incident, the families of 28 youths had contacted them and 166 Kotli residents were reported missing in the migrant boat incident.
He feared that the number could further rise in the coming days.
"The heirs of the boat victims do not come forward due to fear of law [legal action]," observed the police officer. He urged the people to provide the details of their children onboard the ill-fated boat and assured them that the police would help them find their beloved.
"Some of the missing people are still in Greece jails and some are under investigation," he added.
European authorities don't have a clear idea about the number of people aboard the boat when it sank -- estimates range from 400 to over 700 -- but likely hundreds came from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, reported Geo News.
On June 14, dozens of migrants and refugees on board the trawler that sank off Greece's Peloponnese peninsula, killed at least 78 people.
As many as 750 men, women and children - also from Syria, Egypt, and the Palestinian territories - were on board the vessel, trying to reach relatives in Europe. The sinking was one of the worst disasters of its kind this year. The Greek coast guard has defended its response to the tragedy, Al Jazeera reported.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Pakistan and several African nations called for more protections for migrants at the UN Human Rights Council following the shipwreck off the Greek coast.
Pakistan, which had 350 of its nationals aboard the ship that capsized and sank, said the incident was a "grim reminder of the protection gaps".
"The human cost of such a status quo is unacceptable," Pakistan's deputy permanent ambassador, Zaman Mehdi, told the 47-member council in unusually frank comments, Geo News reported.
"Gaps in responsibility sharing, arrangements for the safe and timely search and rescue, the disembarkation of all people rescued at sea and accountability must be plugged in the spirit of solidarity."
The envoy for Gambia, a country from which many migrants depart on perilous journeys toward Europe, said that the issue required "urgent attention".