Two Bangladeshis die after 'drinking petrol' on migrant boat bound for Greece

They were part of a group travelling from Libya that had gone without food for nearly two days, the Bangladesh mission in Greece says

Two Bangladeshi migrants have reportedly died after mistakenly drinking petrol during a journey by sea from Libya to Greece.

According to the Bangladesh Embassy in Athens, the group had gone without food for nearly two days and, in a state of extreme hunger and thirst, drank petrol, believing it to be water.

Four others fell seriously ill, one of whom suffered kidney damage and required dialysis.

In a statement, the embassy said it learnt of the incident on Nov 28 after being contacted by a hospital on the Greek island of Crete. Hospital officials said around 40 Bangladeshis had left Libya on Nov 26 in a small boat bound for Greece.

Midway through the journey, the plastic boat developed a leak and began taking in water. With no food supplies and facing severe dehydration, some of the migrants consumed petrol kept in bottles, mistaking it for drinking water.

The migrants were later taken to the Venizelio and Papageorgiou hospitals on Crete. Two of them died during treatment.

Hospital authorities told the embassy that the remaining migrants would be transferred to the Malakasa migrant camp.

The embassy said its First Secretary Rabeya Begum visited Venizelio Hospital on Dec 2 to check on the injured Bangladeshis. The survivors told embassy officials they had no money or spare clothing. The embassy later provided them with financial assistance.

Officials also visited Papageorgiou Hospital and circulated photographs of the two dead migrants within the Bangladeshi expatriate community to help establish their identities.

The embassy said one of the victims has since been identified, though details were not disclosed.

On Dec 3, the embassy held talks with authorities at the port of Ierapetra regarding the repatriation of the bodies. Port officials assured the embassy that the necessary legal procedures under Greek law would be completed to send the remains back to Bangladesh.

The embassy warned that attempting to reach Greece by sea is “extremely dangerous” and said recent changes to the country’s immigration laws leave no scope for staying illegally, with penalties including fines and imprisonment.