Date: Mon, 5 May 2014 17:09:15 +0200
Greece: Smuggling boats capsize, 22 migrants drown
NICHOLAS PAPHITIS
Published: 41 minutes ago
05/05/2014
http://img.vrvm.com/media/render.htm?m=778989144&width=185
Map locates Samos, Greece, where two boats laden with immigrants sank; 1c x
2 1/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 53 mm;
ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A yacht and a dinghy crammed with immigrants trying to
enter Greece capsized Monday in the eastern Aegean Sea, leaving at least 22
dead, including four children, and potentially several more missing in one
of the deadliest such accidents in Greek waters in recent years.
The vessels had been trying to enter Greece illegally when they overturned
before dawn off the coast of the island of Samos near the Turkish coast. It
was not immediately clear what caused the overloaded craft to capsize. This
was the third fatal migrant boat disaster this year.
The Greek coast guard said 36 people - 32 men, three women and a child -
were rescued, and two of them - a man and a child - were airlifted to a
hospital on the mainland. The survivors were identified as 23 Somalis, nine
Syrians and three Eritreans, the coast guard said. The child's nationality
or the nationalities of those who died were not immediately known.
Coast guard officials recovered the bodies of two women, a man and a boy
from the sea, and later found a further 18 bodies - including three children
- inside the yacht after it was towed to Samos.
Survivors told the coast guard between 60 and 65 people had been on the
10-meter (30-foot) yacht and the two-meter (six-foot) dinghy that had set
off from Turkey.
"We can't give a precise number of missing people with any certainty," Coast
guard spokesman Nikos Lagadianos told The Associated Press earlier, before
the overturned yacht was searched.
Coast guard vessels, fishing boats and two search and rescue helicopters
were combing the area for survivors or bodies. A nearby cruise ship helped
for several hours in the morning before being cleared to continue its
journey.
Despite the deep financial crisis that brought Greece to the brink of
bankruptcy four years ago, the country remains a major entry point for
people from poor or war-ravaged parts of Asia and Africa seeking a better
life in the 28-nation European Union.
Fatal accidents are frequent as migrants risk the dangerous sea crossing
from Turkey. Before Monday's incident, 21 people had drowned in similar
incidents since the beginning of the year. At least 21 people died and six
are still missing after a similar accident in December 2012.
Over the weekend, the Greek coast guard rescued about 250 immigrants from
the sea.
C 2014 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
(image/jpeg attachment: image001.jpg)