Efforts to locate the body of the 6-year-old child, allegedly thrown into the sea by his father during a journey to Cyprus, along with his family and other irregular migrants, have been terminated by the Center for Research and Rescue Operations (JRCC).
The search for three migrants who abandoned the boat to seek help also proved fruitless.
JRCC initiated investigations immediately to locate the three men who were aboard the same boat, which departed from Syria on February 20.
However, they abandoned it with makeshift constructions and attempted to swim ashore for assistance.
JRCC’s searches for both the child’s body and the three men were called off yesterday morning after “all hope of finding anyone was lost,” according to CyBC.
Earlier on Monday, Christos Andreou, Police Spokesperson, told CyBC that “the vessel carrying a total of 36 irregular migrants departed from Syria on February 20 and was spotted by the radar of the Coast Guard and Navy, 58 nautical miles off Larnaca. Coast Guard and Navy vessels went to the area where they located the boat, which was adrift in adverse weather conditions, and with great efforts, managed to pick up the migrants and safely transport them ashore,” specifically to Larnaca, where they were provided with humanitarian aid.
He added that “during the inspection of the migrants’ details, there were papers indicating a family of four children, but only three were found on the boat. When asked about the whereabouts of the fourth child, the father informed the police that they set out with the others by boat on February 20 from Syria, but during the journey, food and fuel ran out, causing the boat to drift aimlessly in bad weather conditions with heavy swell.”
Andreou said, “the father claimed that two days before the boat was located, one of his children, aged 6, likely died from starvation and hardship, so he threw him into the sea.”
Responding to a related question, he stated that “the father, who claimed to have thrown his child into the sea, has not been arrested.”
It is noted that two other individuals on the boat are hospitalized at Nicosia General Hospital, one in critical condition due to dehydration after drinking seawater because their drinking water had run out, and the other with dehydration and hyperglycemia.
After registering their details, the migrants were transferred to the Pournara Reception Center in Kokkinotrimithia.
One person, aged 22, was arrested for being the boat’s skipper and aiding migrants to illegally enter the territory of the Republic of Cyprus.
However, during police investigations and interviews with all boat occupants, the 22-year-old was re-arrested as a suspect, among other charges, for manslaughter, manslaughter by negligence, and endangering the life of a child.
The young man appeared before the Larnaca District Court on Friday, March 1, which issued a remand order against him for eight days. The case is being investigated by Larnaca CID.
