Statements gathered from some of the 104 survivors of a recent shipwreck off Greece contain serious accusations against the Greek Coast Guard.

Search operations for more corpses continue after the fishing vessel, which is believed to have been carrying up to 800 migrants, capsized last week south of Greece's Peloponnese.

Survivors blame Greek Coast Guard

"When the ship capsized, the Coast Guard cut the rope and continued on its way. It went farther away as we were all screaming. After 10 minutes, they came back with small boats to pick up people but they did not go as far as the ship itself. They only picked up those who managed to swim away," one survivor told the Greek newspaper Kathimerini, recounting the last minutes of shipwreck that left at least 82 dead and hundreds missing.

Surviving witnesses have been questioned by the Kalamata port authority.

Every person interviewed confirmed -- with slight variations in their reconstructions -- that the shipwreck had been caused by a Greek Coast Guard patrol boat.

One of the survivors said the Coast Guard's attempt to tow the overcrowded fishing vessel created turbulence in the water that eventually caused the ship to capsize.

"They tried to pull it using force for two or three minutes and everyone whistled to try to make them stop, since they were pulling it strongly and creating waves," one said.

Another added that, "for the first few minutes we went forward, but then the Coast Guard turned to the right and the ship overturned."

Polemics inflame political conflict prior to vote

These witness statements run counter to the Coast Guard's official version. Captains aboard the patrol boat say they only hooked up to the vessel for a few minutes to check the situation onboard before the ship wrecked.

The situation has inflamed political conflict ahead of Greece's government elections, which will be held Sunday.