At least 13 folks died after a migrant boat capsized within the Aegean Sea late Friday, bringing to at the least 27 the mixed loss of life toll from three accidents in as many days involving migrant boats in Greek waters.
The sinkings got here as smugglers more and more favour a deadly route from Turkey to Italy, which avoids Greece’s closely patrolled japanese Aegean islands that for years have been on the forefront of the nation’s migration disaster.
The coast guard stated 62 folks have been rescued after a sailboat capsized late Friday some 8 kilometers off the island of Paros, within the central Aegean. Survivors advised the coast guard that about 80 folks had been on the vessel.
Five coast guard patrol boats, 9 personal vessels, a helicopter and a navy transport airplane continued the night-time seek for extra survivors, authorities stated, whereas coast guard divers additionally participated.
Smugglers primarily based in Turkey more and more have packed yachts with migrants and refugees and despatched them towards Italy.
Earlier, 11 folks have been confirmed useless after a sailboat Thursday struck a rocky islet some 235 kilometers south of Athens, close to the island of Antikythera. The coast guard stated Friday that 90 survivors — 52 males, 11 girls and 27 kids — have been rescued after spending hours on the islet.
“People need safe alternatives to these perilous crossings,” the Greek workplace of the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, stated in a tweet.
In a separate incident Friday, Greek police arrested three folks on smuggling prices and detained 92 migrants after a yacht ran aground within the southern Peloponnese area.
And a search operation additionally continued for a 3rd day within the central Aegean, the place a ship carrying migrants sank close to the island of Folegandros, killing at the least three folks. Thirteen others have been rescued, and the survivors reported that at the least 17 folks have been lacking. Authorities stated the passengers initially have been from Iraq.
Greece is a well-liked entry level into the European Union for folks fleeing battle and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. But arrivals dropped sharply within the final two years after Greece prolonged a wall on the Turkish border and commenced intercepting inbound boats carrying migrants and refugees, a tactic criticised by human rights teams.
More than 116,000 asylum-seekers crossed the Mediterranean to succeed in EU international locations this yr as of December 19, in response to UNHCR. The company stated 55 per cent travelled illegally to Italy, 35 per cent to Spain, and seven per cent to Greece, with the rest heading to Malta and Cyprus.
