Survivors of the deadly migrant shipwreck in southern Greece three months ago are suing authorities for failing to intervene to rescue passengers before their vessel capsized in international waters, their lawyers said today, Thursday.
HDN Newsroom
Many of the survivors dispute the official account that repeated offers of assistance by the coast guard were rejected and claim that a botched effort was made to tow the vessel to safety shortly before it capsized and sank.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of 40 survivors against "all parties responsible" at the port of Piraeus, near Athens, on Wednesday.
The plaintiffs say the coast guard failed to act promptly "to rescue the passengers on board the obviously unseaworthy and overloaded fishing vessel," according to a statement by three volunteer organizations of lawyers and migrant rights groups assisting the case.
