Tally of missing youth in Greece boat tragedy soared

MIRPUR: The tally of the youth missing in Greece boat tragedy has reached to 138 in the region, citing DIG Mirpur, ARY News reported on Monday.

DIG Mirpur Khalid Mehmood Chohan has said that the parents of 88 missing young men have contacted with police, while the data of other 50 missing persons in the boat incident, has been collected with the help of the community.

The number of the missing youth could further increase, he said.

“The relatives of several missing youth have avoided to contact with authorities,” the DIG said. He appealed people to cooperate with police.

“Parents of missing youth shall provide information, we will extend help to them,” he assured.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah on Friday said in a statement in the National Assembly that there were at least 350 Pakistani victims on an overloaded boat that capsized and sank in open seas off Greece last week, adding that 82 bodies of those aboard the boat have so far been recovered and their identification process was underway with the help of the forensic and NADRA data.

Rana Sanaullah said that special desks have been established to contact the affected families so far 281 families have contacted these desks.

He said 193 DNA samples have so far been collected to complete the identification process. He further said that a high-level inquiry committee has been constituted which will suggest different recommendations including amendments in the legislation to ensure conviction of the human traffickers.