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