Greece boat tragedy: dozens arrested in Pakistan crackdown over migrant ship disaster - what we know so far

Pakistani authorities have arrested seven people alleged to be key figures in a human trafficking ring, at the heart of a deadly boat disaster off the coast of Greece.

An overcrowded fishing boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe capsized near Kalamata on 14 June, carrying as many as 750 people. More than 500 of them disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea, with only 104 men - from Egypt, Pakistan, Syria, and Palestine - surviving.

Just 82 of what is likely hundreds of bodies have been recovered so far. The vessel had reportedly set sail from Libya and was en route to Italy.

The disaster is one of the worst of its kind in recent history, and has triggered a crackdown on human traffickers in Pakistan over the past few days - with dozens arrested. The country is reportedly in the grips of its worst economic crisis in decades, CNN reports, and estimates 300 Pakistani nationals were among the dead.

However, there have been conflicting reports about what exactly caused the boat to sink, and official reports from the various countries involved in the disaster and the response have not lined up with survivor's testimonies in some cases.

Here's what we know so far:

Who has been arrested in Pakistan?

Besides the seven key figures arrested on Wednesday (21 June), an estimated thirty other suspects have been arrested over the past few days in Pakistan and were being questioned for their role in facilitating smuggling activities, AP reports.

Officials in the South Asian country have said an estimated 300 of the victims were Pakistani. Police continued raids across the country on Wednesday in an attempt to arrest all involved in the migrant ship disaster at Pakistan's end, with intelligence agencies helping local police track down smugglers who went underground, AP reports.

Each of those who tried to make the perilous journey to Europe – hoping for a better life – paid the smugglers between £3,900 to £6,200, Pakistani authorities have said.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said efforts to dismantle trafficking rings would continue. He said Pakistan would seek the help of Interpol and other nations in tracking and arresting traffickers, in hopes of preventing more tragedies at sea.

Outside of Pakistan, nine suspected crewmembers - all men from Egypt - have appeared before a Greek court in Kalamata for questioning.

What do we know about how the tragedy unfolded?

There have been conflicting reports around what exactly caused the boat to sink.

Survivors have said the battered trawler sank during a botched attempt to tow it. Ali Sheikhi, a Kurdish man from war-torn Northeast Syria, told Kurdish TV Rudaw the trawler went down after its engine failed, and another vessel tried to tow it.

Meanwhile, 23-year-old Rana Husnain Neseer - who lost his wife and children below deck - said other passengers told him that a tow line was attached by a “big ship” just before the sinking. He did not see that “as I was bent low and praying”.

He felt the vessel tilt sharply. “We all went to the other side to balance it, which made our boat tilt in the other direction and sink,"

The Greek Coast Guard's official version of events was that the aging metal boat was at no point being towed, and only had a line briefly attached hours before it capsized. Greek authorities claim the ship wobbled violently before sinking, after a large number of passengers suddenly shifted position.

Greecehas been widely criticised for not trying to save the migrants before the boat sank, AP reported, but officials in Athens say the passengers refused any help and insisted on proceeding to Italy, adding that it would have been too dangerous to try to evacuate hundreds of unwilling people from an overcrowded ship.

Survivors also spoke of the horrific conditions onboard. Mr Sheikhi said they were told not to bring any food or supplies, as they would be available on the boat.

The smugglers did not let anyone bring lifejackets, and threw whatever food the passengers had into the sea, he added, echoing accounts from other survivors.

Mr Sheikhi said he and his brother - who died in the tragedy - were directed to the ship’s hold with hundreds of others, including women and children. They were able to move up onto the deck, after paying extra money to the smugglers.

By the time the ship sank, the voyage had been at sea for five days. Water ran out after a day and a half, and some passengers resorted to drinking sea water, he said. Some have said they were hit with belts when they tried to stand up, while others said many of the hundreds trapped within the hold when the boat sank were from Pakistan.

What has the UK's response been?

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deadly sinking of a ship carrying hundreds of migrants off the Greek coast showed the importance of discouraging people from “using unsafe and illegal routes”.

The Prime Minister, who has controversially made stopping Channel crossings by small boats one of his priorities, said the tragedy illustrated the “gravity of the problem” of migration via unauthorised means.

Sunak discussed the incident with his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson during a meeting in Downing Street on Monday. A No 10 spokeswoman said the Prime Minister said the incident "illustrated the gravity of the problem and the enormous misery it was causing".

“It underlined why it was important to deter migrants from using unsafe and illegal routes, the Prime Minister said.”

A Downing Street spokesman earlier said Sunak had discussed the matter with European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen. “The leaders also reflected on the tragic shipwreck in Greece last week and the brutal business model of people-smuggling gangs," he said.

“They reiterated their commitment to continue working closely together to break the criminal enterprises driving illegal migration, including UK cooperation with the EU border agency Frontex.”