Greek authorities have arrested nine Egyptian nationals and charged them with people-smuggling, after their overloaded fishing vessel capsized and sank in deep waters off the coast of southern Greece on Wednesday. Over 100 people were rescued, but hope is fading for an estimated 500 others who remain missing. That includes as many as 100 children who witnesses say were traveling below deck. It’s the deadliest shipwreck off the Greek coast this year, possibly among the deadliest ever in the central Mediterranean. Protests in support of the migrants have erupted across Greece amid reports that a Greek Coast Guard vessel escorted the trawler for hours and failed to properly render aid as the vessel capsized. On Thursday, Greek opposition leader Alexis Tsipras visited with survivors at the port of Kalamata, where he condemned the European Union’s policies on refugees and migrants.

Alexis Tsipras: “I want to say there are huge political responsibilities with the migration policy that Europe has been following for years, a migration policy that turns the Mediterranean, our seas, into watery graves. And I think it is time to speak the truth, because this policy has to change.”