ATHENS - Two boats carrying migrants sank in the early hours of Thursday in the narrow stretch of sea between Turkey and a nearby Greek island, leaving at least 16 people dead, ...
one missing and more than 40 survivors, Greek and Turkish officials said. At least three children were among the dead.
The two accidents reportedly occurred several hours apart in the narrow stretch of the Aegean Sea between the Greek island of Lesbos and the Turkish coast, with authorities on either side unaware of the other nation’s rescue efforts.
On the Greek side, the country’s coast guard said that in the early hours of Thursday, one of its patrol boats came across a small dinghy of about five metres in length that was taking on water, with many of its passengers having already fallen into the sea. Twenty-three people – 11 minors, eight men and four women – were rescued, while survivors told authorities that 31 people had originally been in the dinghy.
A sea and land search and rescue operation was launched, including helicopters, vessels from the coast guard and the FRONTEX European border agency, as well as vehicles and a diver. Authorities later recovered the bodies of seven people – three women, two boys, one girl and one man. (Jamaica Gleaner/AP)
