Boat

But Greek officials and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) say that hundreds more migrants may have been on board.

The shipwreck is the deadliest off Greece this year.

The boat went down about 50 miles (80 km) south-west of Pylos after the coastguard said it had refused help.

The coastguard said the boat had been spotted in international waters late on Tuesday by an aircraft belonging to EU border agency Frontex. No-one on board was wearing life jackets, it added.

Tala Fou reports Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa has admitted to a security lapse on the part of government Ministries.

Fiame has expressed disappointment with how certain government bodies allowed a boat that sailed from American to enter and return without approval.

At her press conference last week Fiame stressed that it should never have happened.

She added that the boat should have been seized upon entry and the crew should have been locked immediately if they didn’t have the right documentation, however local officials failed to do so.