Malta boat tragedy: wreckage recovered

HOSHIARPUR, March 18: On the basis of a documentary film made by Kamal Tayal, director of a German television company ARD, wreckage of the small ship F-174, that sank on the intervening night of December 24 and 25, 1996, near Malta coast, killing 289 illegal immigrants of India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has been found in the Mediterranean sea.

Mr Tayal worked on this film for nearly 16 months and visited India, Greece, Turkey, Italy and many other places that mattered. He also managed to hold an interview with captain of the “Yeohan” ship which carried the Asian immigrants before they was shifted to F-174. This vital information has been delivered by the first secretary in the Indian embassy in Rome, A.N. Sinha, to Balwant Singh Khera, chairman of the Malta Tragedy Probe Panel. Khera and three other members of Malta Boat Tragedy Sufferers Association had visited Italy, Greece and other European countries, to collect evidence of the tragedy and to press for a speedy investigation into the case.

The captain, in his interview, confirmed the tragedy, and with the help of a compass, depicted the place of occurrence, which was 50 kilometer from Sicily coast towards 30ø and 20 mm: north and 14ø and 10 mm: East. Yatch F-174 left Malta shore at 10:30 p.m. on December 24, 1996. The same night it sank, killing 289 persons on board, including 170 Indians, 88 Sri Lankans and 31 Pakistanis. The captain is still at large but the Greece police has arrested Eftichios Zervoudakis – owner of the big ship “Yehon” . According to Khera, the Indian Embassy in Rome has advised the Malta Boat Tragedy Sufferers Association to approach the Legal Department of Italy and send necessary information to public prosecutor at district Surcuza.