Dozens are missing
At least 18 migrants have died and dozens are missing after two boats capsized overnight in Greek waters, local media reported.
At around 9:00 PM local time, the incident took place a nautical mile from the port of the town of Diakofti, on the island of Cítera, where winds of up to 100 km/h have been recorded, unfavorable weather conditions for the proper development of the rescue operations of the Greek coastguard, the Kythera News portal has gathered.
According to the latest report, the coast guard, Greek police and local authorities have spotted the bodies of three people and 80 have been rescued. According to the statement of the rescued people, 95 migrants were on board the boat, so they are still looking for another 15 people.
The second of the shipwrecks occurred near the island of Lesvos after the sinking of a boat carrying some 40 migrants, according to initial information.
Authorities have recorded the deaths of 15 people so far. Similarly, the rescue of nine migrants has been carried out and three people are being removed from a rocky and steep area, Ethnos newspaper reported. They are still looking for another 16 people who were on board the boat.
Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis has issued an “urgent appeal” to Turkey on Twitter, asking for “immediate action” to stop the migratory flow, at a time of “bad weather conditions in the area”.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet this Thursday in Prague at the first meeting of the consolidation of a new European Political Community, which will bring EU countries together with other partners on the continent, although not No bilateral meeting is planned between the two.
“Too many lives have already been lost in the Aegean Sea. People are drowning in boats that are not seaworthy,” said the minister, who has also called on the European Union to take action. Before Thursday’s shipwrecks, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) had already killed more than 230 people in the eastern seaboard. Mediterranean region, with some 2,100 migrants and refugees killed in this area since 2014.
Source: La Verdad
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