Greece: At least seven people have died, including two babies, after a boat carrying migrants from Turkiye to a local Greek area capsized, Greece’s beach guard said Thursday. A search and rescue operation off the northwestern coast of the island of Lesbos recovered the body. The coast guard said 23 individuals have been rescued.
Reporting on what appeared to be the same falling, Turkiye’s state-run press said the event was attended by the Greek coastline watch after a rubber boat sank in the Aegean Sea between the Greek island and Lesbos. Those rescued were taken to a doctor and the hunt continued, Anadolu news organization said.
Conditions in the area was reported to be nice, and it was unclear what had caused the boat to reject early Thursday morning.
There was no fast information on the total number of people who had been on the ship, their countries, or the type of vehicle they had been using.
A sea and land search and rescue operation was continuing, with three beach watch arteries, an air pressure helicopter and a local boat searching for potential further victims.
Greece is one of the main entry points into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and hunger in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, with some making the small but usually perilous trip from the Greek coastline to local Greek islands in inflated dinghies. Some are abandoned or set out in bad conditions, and dangerous accidents have been popular.
The Greek government has cracked down with increased inspections at sea, and some trafficking rings have shifted their operations west, using larger vessels to move people from the north coast of Africa to southern Greece.
