ISLAMABAD, Sept 19: Pakistan’s embassy in Athens has identified nine Pakistanis among the 23 illegal immigrants who lost their lives on Sept 9 near Alexandropoulos while attempting to cross the Evros River between Greece and Turkey.

Initial reports said 17 of the bodies were of Pakistanis.

Of the 23 bodies, 15 were buried on the advice of the local mufti due to their decomposed state.

A statement by the Foreign Office said: “The task of identifying the bodies has been time consuming...as the place of tragedy is 900km from Athens.”

The embassy, in collaboration with the Greek authorities, “positively” identified nine Pakistanis with the help of documents recovered from the bodies and confirmation by their relatives.

The Foreign Office has directed the embassy to offer all possible assistance for transportation of the identified bodies to Pakistan.

The embassy is trying to identify the remaining Pakistanis who may be among those who have been buried.—APP