By: News Peddlers
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| HELLENIC COAST GUARD, IMAGE SOURCE | The total number of victims in this year's Mediterranean disaster is unknown. |
According to Pakistan's interior minister, at least 350 Pakistanis were on board a crowded trawler that capsized off the coast of southern Greece on June 14.
Rana Sanaullah told parliament that his estimate was based on families who sought government assistance and underwent DNA testing.
Egyptians and Syrians were among the hundreds of migrants believed to be dead.
The official death toll is still 82, with 104 people surviving, including 12 Pakistanis.
Mr Sanaullah estimated that "perhaps there has never been such a large toll in any incident before, even in terrorist incidents" for Pakistan.
The boat is believed to have left Egypt and picked up passengers in the Libyan city of Tobruk who had paid thousands of dollars for the trip. According to the UN, 400 to 750 people could have been crammed onto the ship, which sank about 50 miles (80 kilometres) south-west of the coastal town of Pylos.
It is one of the worst migrant boat disasters in recent years in the Mediterranean, and questions remain about Greece's response once it became clear that the boat was in trouble.
According to shipping data, the fishing vessel was stationary for at least seven hours before it capsized.
On Thursday, Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) announced the identification of at least 209 Pakistani victims based on DNA samples collected primarily from Punjab families and some from Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Since the disaster, more than 20 suspected human traffickers have been apprehended in Pakistan.
In connection with the shipwreck, Greece has charged nine Egyptian men with human trafficking. They have both denied any wrongdoing.