KARACHI, Pakistan (Reuters) – Twelve Pakistanis were among survivors from a boat packed with migrants that capsized off the coast of Greece this week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said the government was unable so far to verify the number of Pakistanis who died, or their identities.
People seeking missing relatives were urged to share with the ministry identity documents and DNA reports from authenticated laboratories, she said.
The death toll in Wednesday’s disaster could run to many hundreds as witness accounts suggested that between 400 and 750 people had packed the fishing boat that sank about 50 miles (80 km) from the southern Greek town of Pylos.
Greek authorities have said 104 survivors and 78 bodies of the dead were brought ashore in the immediate aftermath. Hopes were fading of finding any more people alive.
Most of the people on board were from Egypt, Syria and Pakistan, Greek government officials have said.
(Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi; Editing by Frances Kerry)
