Greek authorities have launched a significant search and rescue operation for dozens of migrants missing after a ship they were traveling on from Turkey overturned and sank in rough weather overnight between the islands of Evia and Andros.
The coast guard said Tuesday that nine people, all men, had been found on an uninhabited rocky islet within the Kafirea Straits between the 2 islands, which lie east of the Greek capital. The survivors, who were picked up by a coast guard patrol boat, told authorities there had been a complete of about 68 people on board the sailing boat when it sank, and that they’d initially set sail from Izmir on the Turkish coast.
Authorities were initially alerted by a distress call within the early hours of Tuesday from passengers saying the boat they were on was in trouble, but they didn’t provide a location. Weather in the world was particularly rough, with gale force winds. The coast guard said a helicopter, a coast guard patrol boat and two nearby ships were participating within the search and rescue operation.
A separate search and rescue operation was also ongoing since Monday off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Samos for eight people reported missing after an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants overturned. 4 survivors were rescued Monday from that incident. A coast guard aircraft and patrol boat, two nearby ships and a vessel from the European border patrol agency Frontex were participating within the search, authorities said.
1000’s of individuals fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa, Asia and the Middle East try to enter the European Union through Greece annually. Most make the short but often perilous crossing from the Turkish coast to nearby Greek islands in inflatable dinghies. Others opt to try to circumvent Greece in overcrowded sailboats and yachts heading straight to Italy.
Earlier this month, a minimum of 27 people drowned in two separate incidents. In a single, 18 people died when a ship that had set sail from Turkey sank off the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos, while in the opposite, a yacht carrying about 100 people sank in a gale, killing a minimum of nine and leaving six missing.