Pakistan reported 300 of its Citizens Killed in the Migrant Ship off Greece

Pakistan has reported around 300 of its citizens who died when a ship carrying illegal migrants from Libya to Europe capsized last week.

"Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani deeply mourns the tragic loss of nearly 300 Pakistanis following a boat accident off the coast of Greece," Sanjrani's office said in a tweet, as quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency on Monday.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif tweeted that he had ordered a "high-level inquiry to clarify the circumstances surrounding the sinking incident".

14 people have been arrested for human trafficking in connection with the tragedy, reports Reuters.

"I have instructed Pakistan's foreign ministry to take immediate action at all levels to gather information about the missing," Sharif added.

Greek media reports that the Greek authorities have not yet confirmed the death toll, but according to the UN, it could reach 500 people.

Last Wednesday, a fishing vessel with about 750 survivors aboard capsized and sank off the Peloponnese coast - the deepest part of the Mediterranean Sea. According to initial reports, after engine failure and panic on board, the ship capsized and sank rapidly, dragging hundreds of people to the bottom. 104 people were rescued and have already been transferred to refugee camps near Athens. The bodies of 78 drowned people were recovered. The main part of the migrants on board are citizens of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Syria.

Russian warships in the Ionian Sea

On Monday, another 68 migrants were rescued after they issued a distress call about problems with their vessel off the Greek island of Leros in the Ionian Sea.

The migrants were initially transferred to a ship, which...