ATHENS 

The sea was calm for rescuing migrants in the boat that sunk off southwestern Greece earlier this week, said Pope Francis on Sunday. 

Referring to a video released by Greek daily Efysn where the boat carrying 700 migrants can be seen still, the Pope said: "It seems that the sea was calm."

He meant that the situation was favorable for a rescue operation, Vatican News reported.

The migrant boat sank off southwestern Greece early Wednesday. While more than 100 passengers were rescued, nearly 500 are missing in the surrounding Mediterranean waters and 78 bodies have been recovered, according to UN officials.​​​​​​​

Robert Vitillo, secretary general of the International Catholic Migration Commission, expressed deep regret over the tragic loss of migrant life.

“The world must not simply stand by and wait for such tragedies that happen so frequently in many parts of the world,” he said.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, who is on a visit to UAE, said: “These are tragedies we never want to see. Unfortunately, a series of delays on the part of Europe prevented a strategic solution to the problem from being reached.”

"Efforts are needed which must come from the European Union,” he added. ​​​​​​​