In a recent development following a harrowing migrant tragedy off the coast of Cyprus, a 22-year-old Syrian man has been released from custody after being arrested on charges of manslaughter. The young man was implicated after a six-year-old boy died and three individuals went missing when their boat was adrift for nine days.
Survivors of the vessel, which initially carried 35 passengers, provided testimonies to authorities suggesting that the 22-year-old was not the navigator, as police had suspected. Instead, they claimed that the actual navigator was among those who jumped into the water in a desperate attempt to seek help and are now missing. The case file was subsequently reviewed by the Law Office, leading to the release of the young man who had only occasionally steered the boat while the navigator rested.
The released individual, along with the other 30 migrants, has been taken to the Pournara Reception Centre. As it stands, there is no ongoing criminal prosecution related to the incident. Legal proceedings may be revisited if the navigator is found alive.
The father of the deceased six-year-old confirmed that his son passed away on February 28. In a tragic turn of events, the child’s body was wrapped in a blanket and cast into the sea. Following this, three men from the boat attempted to swim to shore with improvised flotation devices to summon aid. Despite extensive search and rescue efforts, they have not been located.
The survivors also disclosed that they each paid smugglers between 2,500 and 3,000 euros for passage to Cyprus, embarking from an unspecified location on the border between Syria and Lebanon. They faced severe weather conditions that rendered the boat unmanageable, leading to a critical shortage of fuel, food, and water. In their struggle for survival, they resorted to drinking seawater.
Currently, a 36-year-old man from the group remains hospitalized in serious condition with hypernatremia at Nicosia Hospital. The migrant vessel departed on February 20 and was discovered on February 29, 58 nautical miles from Cyprus’s coast. A total of 31 people were rescued in the operation.
This incident underscores the perilous journeys migrants undertake and the complex legal and humanitarian issues surrounding such tragedies.
