Leaked Audio Calls into Question Greece’s Account of Tragic Migrant Shipwreck

Leaked recordings from inside a Greek rescue coordination center suggest that Greek officials may have misled the public regarding their actions during a tragic shipwreck involving a migrant boat. Survivors claim the coastguard's intervention led to the disaster, which resulted in the loss of up to 650 lives.

Leaked audio directives from Greek rescue coordinators have emerged, intensifying scrutiny of Greece's official narrative surrounding the tragic maritime disaster that occurred on June 14, 2023. The migrant vessel, Adriana, sank in international waters after departing Libya with an estimated 650 individuals onboard.

Survivors have asserted that the Greek Coast Guard's interference during a botched rescue attempt contributed to the boat's capsizing. While Greece maintains that they did not attempt a rescue due to the vessel being on an intended journey to Italy, new recordings contradict this assertion. One key exchange features a coordinator instructing the boat's captain to inform a responding vessel that they did not wish to reach Greece.

The tragedy, dubbed one of the worst maritime disasters in Mediterranean history, led to the recovery of only 82 bodies, as the UN reports that an additional 500 people, including many women and children, remain missing.

The leaked recordings, published by Greek media outlet News247.gr, unveil conversations from the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Piraeus, Athens. In one call, a coordinator directs the captain to inform an approaching aid vessel that passengers are not seeking refuge in Greece.

In follow-up dialogues, the aid vessel’s captain relays that the migrants expressed a clear preference for Italy, raising alarm over Greece's assertion that they were not in peril. Despite the evidence presented, the Greek Coast Guard has thus far refrained from commenting on the specifics of the leaked conversations while stating that they have cooperated with an ongoing Naval Court investigation into the incident.

The implications of this evidence have attracted the attention of human rights organizations like Amnesty International, which questions the integrity of Greece’s investigation. Legal representatives of some accused individuals linked to the shipwreck voiced skepticism over the Greek authorities’ narrative, alleging attempts to cover up the facts leading to the tragedy.

As calls grow for a transparent international investigation into the disaster, the full weight of the revelations from the leaked audio recordings continues to unfold, casting a long shadow over Greece's maritime rescue protocols and treatment of migrants in distress.