Cyprus still searching for missing bodies from capsized boat, authorities reject claims of force pushback

The Cyprus Search and Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) said on Thursday that Wednesday night’s searches to locate any signs of those still missing from the sunken boat off Cape Greco remained unsuccessful.

While search efforts will continue, any hopes of finding additional survivors are now miniscule. Two survivors were rescued on Monday, while seven bodies we pulled from the sea.

Autopsies confirmed drowning as the cause of death for four victims with further toxicological and histopathological tests pending. The remaining three bodies underwent forensic examination on Wednesday but results remain outstanding.

The boat, believed to have been carrying 20 Syrians, was discovered approximately 25 nautical miles off Cape Greco in international waters on Monday.

On Tuesday, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Cyprus condemned Cypriot authorities, alleging that three boats carrying around 80 Syrian migrants were forcibly turned back in separate incidents since March 14.

According to UNHCR, the boats were intercepted, and the migrants were subsequently returned to Syria, in violation of international law and the principle of non-refoulement (pushbacks), which forbids returning asylum seekers to places where they may face harm.

The ministries of justice and defence and deputy ministry of migration have categorically denied any wrongdoing, rejecting claims of illegal pushbacks or the use of force against migrants at sea.

Meanwhile, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) issued an announcement alleging that the Cypriot authorities had pushed back three boats carrying some 80 Syrian nationals, including women and children, who had reached Cyprus from Syria.

“These boats were reportedly pushed back by Cypriot authorities, as a result of which the Syrian nationals were forcibly returned to Syria, from where they had fled,” said a UNHCR statement which pointed out that “such measures are incompatible with states’ non-refoulement obligations and are contrary to international law.”

The announcement was issued after the capsizing of a boat carrying 21 people, some 30 nautical miles off the Cape Greco coast. Two people were rescued from the sea, while seven bodies were also recovered. It was another tragedy involving migrants – of the type we see much too frequently – that we will carry on seeing as long as there are people seeking a better life.

The Cyprus ministries of justice, defence and migration and international protection stated on Wednesday that they strongly rejected allegations of illegal pushbacks and the use of force against migrants at sea.

The government insisted that it operates strictly within international law and has never ignored distress calls. The joint statement aimed to clarify the details of three separate search and rescue operations conducted over the past week.

Authorities confirmed that two survivors and seven bodies were recovered on March 17, during a search coordinated by the joint rescue coordination centre (JRCC) from a capsized boat believed to be carrying around 21 Syrian migrants. No other bodies have yet been found.

However, they stated that the victims could not be linked to a separate distress call made on Sunday. The government categorically denied claims that Cyprus had used firearms, water cannons, or forced returns at sea, calling such accusations “unacceptable”.

Cyprus Mail