Greece: witness, 'after shipwreck abandoned for 10 minutes'

(ANSA) - ATHENS, JUNE 20 - Nine survivors of the shipwreck of Pylos, heard as witnesses by the Port Authority of Kalamata, have confirmed with slight variations in the reconstruction that the shipwreck would have been caused by the patrol boat of the Greek Coast Guard, after the attempt to tow the fishing boat with a rope. This was reported by the site ofKathimerini, which collected the testimonies of some survivors.
The capsizing of the boat, according to their account, would have occurred shortly after the second attempt by the Coast Guard to hook the fishing boat with the rope, because the first had failed.
One of the survivors describes the turbulence in the water caused by the fishing vessel's attempted tow. "They pulled it hard for two or three minutes and everyone whistled for them to crack. And they didn't hear us. Everyone was whistling and signaling to stop pulling, because they were pulling hard and creating all these waves," he says. Another adds: "For the first few minutes we went forward, but then the coast guard turned right and that's how the ship capsized." The first survivor continues: "When the ship capsized on the spot, the Coast Guard cut the rope and continued alone. She walked away and we all shouted. After 10 minutes they returned with small boats to pick up people, but they didn't get to where the boat was, they only took those who had swum and walked away," he tells Kathimerini. (ANSA).