London: As per the BBC new report evidence has been found that casts doubt on a Greek coastguard's account of the recent migrant shipwreck, in which hundreds are believed to have perished.

Greek officials initially asserted that the ship maintained a "steady course and speed" towards Italy between 5:40 p.m. and 10.40 p.m. GMT on Tuesday.

According to the coastguard, nobody was in need of rescue or in danger during these hours, the BBC reported on Sunday.

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The broadcaster claimed that the crowded fishing boat was not moving for at least seven hours prior to capsize, based on the movements of other ships in the area.

The migrant boat was reportedly spotted by Frontex, the EU's border control agency, around 8:00 am on Tuesday. Frontex then alerted Greek authorities.

A distress call from migrants on the boat was received at 12:17 p.m., according to Alarm Phone, an emergency hotline for migrants in trouble at sea.

The BBC obtained computer tracking information on nearby ship movements from MarineTraffic, a maritime analytics platform.

The coast guard requested the Lucky Sailor, a ship, to approach the migrant boat and provide food and water, the Lucky Sailor confirmed.

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A little over 30 minutes later, at 3:35 p.m., a coast guard helicopter found the migrant boat. It was moving steadily at the time, according to the authorities.

However, the Faithful Warrior, another ship, arrived at the same location around 6:00 p.m. and brought supplies for the boat.

Greek authorities maintained that the fishing boat was not in danger during the seven hours before it sank and was instead safely travelling to Italy; as a result, the coastguard did not make an attempt at a rescue.

The BBC reported that because all the shipping activity during these hours was centred on a single area, it was likely that the migrant boat had barely moved.

Later, according to a government spokesperson, the migrants on board pulled a rope that had been attached and refused rescue attempts by the coastguard, who had tried to board the boat to assess the danger.

The boat sank at 11:00 p.m. with numerous people on board. According to the BBC, the tracking animation depicts a flurry of ships racing to the rescue.

A luxury yacht called the Mayan Queen was then dispatched to help bring some of the 104 survivors ashore.

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Those who were saved made it to the port of Kalamata safely, but the incident has raised significant concerns about the Greek response.

The UN has requested an investigation into how Greece handled the disaster amid claims that more should have been done earlier to start a large-scale rescue operation.

The BBC's claims have not yet received a response from Greek authorities.