There has been massive criticism leveled at the Greek authorities concerning the June 14 shipwreck.

The Greek government argues that the sole responsibility lies with the human traffickers. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in Brussels on Thursday (29 June) that: “The main responsibility lies with the criminal gangs who filled the boat with helpless people without even giving them life jackets.”

The survivors, however, stated that the Greek coast guard did not want to rescue them.

The European border agency Frontex also stated that the Greek authorities ignored the request for help to deal with the boat disaster in which at least 82 people died and hundreds were missing.

Five of the surviving refugees spoke to AFP news agency. Hassan, a 26-year-old Syrian refugee held in the Malakasa refugee camp, north of Athens said angrily: “I had no impression that the Greek coast guard wanted to rescue us.”

According to survivors' testimonies, there were between 600 and 750 people, including women and children on board. Only 104 people have been rescued.

27-year-old Syrian Ahmed said: “I don't know exactly how many, but we heard their cries.”

According to the survivors, coast guards offered rope twice to help the refugees. On the first attempt, the rope fell.

28-year-old Syrian Salim said: “After a second attempt, the rope was suddenly tied to the bow by a military boat that zigzagged very quickly, creating waves. That's when the boat turned upside down.”

Another refugee, who wanted to remain anonymous like the others for security reasons, accused the coast guard of acting deliberately: “It was not an accident!”

According to the Greek Refugee Council (GCR), 35-40 survivors gave similar statements about the coast guard that dealt with the boat.

Lefteris Papagiannakis, a director of the GCR, said: “Why did they pull the boat? We need to wait for the results of the investigation”, adding that there was an obvious delay in the rescue operation.