Greece boat disaster: Capsized boat held 100 children - reports

Up to 100 children may have been on board, according to survivors on a fishing boat that capsized off southern Greece in one of Europe's biggest migrant disasters.

The calamity has already claimed the lives of at least 78 people, BBC has reported.

Reports indicate that up to 750 passengers were aboard the ship, but many more could yet be missing at sea.

The nation's coastguard has come under fire for not getting involved sooner, but according to the authorities, their offers of assistance were turned down.

As chances of finding further survivors fade, rescuers are still conducting a large search operation off the coast of Greece.

Medical professionals who cared for the survivors, who were largely men, have reported horrifying details about a sizeable number of women and children sailing in the ship's hold.

Survivors were taken to the Greek port of Kalamata near Pylos. Covered in blankets, they rested on mattresses at a warehouse shelter, and the migration ministry was expected to move them to a camp outside Athens, reports Reuters.

The shipwreck was the deadliest off Greece in several years. In February, 96 people died when their wooden boat smashed into rocks on Italy's Calabrian coast during a storm.

Greece's caretaker administration, in power between an inconclusive election on 21 May and new elections on 25 June, declared three days of national mourning.