Human rights activists cautioned that there are other maritime incidents to which the world should pay attention besides the disappearance of the Titan sub.
They have urged more light to be shed on disasters like the most recent migrant shipwreck in Greece, which resulted in the deaths of 81 individuals.
Additionally, it follows MEPs’ admiration of German marine captain Pia Klemp, who saved more than 1,000 migrants despite facing a 20-year prison sentence.
Judith Sunderland, associate director for Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division told NBC ‘it’s a horrifying and disgusting contrast’ and added that it’s a ‘dark reflection on humanity’.
She wasn’t alone in raising concerns after Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, a U.K.-based NGO supporting refugees around the world also spoke out.
She said: ‘Whilst of course we hope so much that the people on board get brought to safety, it does kind of make you question, what’s the difference in terms of how the media is covering it but also in terms of how, you know, the governments and government infrastructure responds, why is it so different?’
But she highlighted ‘it’s 100 times as many people who are feared to have lost their lives and these people, they were forced to flee their homes, they were looking for safety.’
A number of confirmed victims from one of the worst migrant shipwrecks in the Mediterranean rose to 81 on Monday.
On Monday, Pakistan’s prime minister Shehbaz Sharif announced a day of national mourning for people who died in the tragedy.
He also announced a ‘high-level inquiry’ into the boat’s sinking, adding: ‘I assure the nation that those found negligent towards their duty will be held to account. Responsibility will be fixed after the inquiry and heads will roll.’
The chair of Pakistan’s Senate, Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani, also sent his condolences to the bereaved.
He said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we pray that the detracted souls find eternal peace.
‘This devastating incident underscores the urgent need to address and condemn the abhorrent act of illegal human trafficking.’
The comments come as search teams feared for the lives of a British billionaire and four others heading for the Titanic wreckage.
The five members on board the ship have now used up their final remaining oxygen tanks, after being trapped since Sunday, it was reported.
British billionaire Hamish Harding is among those aboard along with OceanGate’s chief executive and founder, Stockton Rush, and French submersible pilot Paul-Henri Nargeolet.
Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Sulaiman, were also travelling on the sub into the depths of the ocean.
Search efforts have been ramped up today, with at least 10 vessels using sonar detection to try and track down the crew.
