Authorities in Greece say at least three people died after a boat carrying refugees and migrants tried to cross from the Turkish coast to the island of Lesvos on Wednesday morning amid northerly winds of nine Beaufort.
The boat reached the sea area near the coast of Agios Georgios, Thermi, ten kilometers north of the city of Mytilini at about three o’clock in the morning, but it fell onto rocks due to strong winds blowing the area.
The number of missing people remains unknown thus far. Two young people of African origin, a man and a woman, aged about 25 to 30 years old, were recovered dead. One more individual who perished has been identified, and an attempt is being made to recover another one.
An injured person has been transferred to the Mytilini Hospital, while eight survivors have been transferred to the Kara Tepe Reception and Identification Center.
According to witnesses, there were a total of thirty-six people on board the boat. The remaining twenty-four passengers are reportedly hiding in the surrounding mountains, although it is possible that some of them may have fallen into the sea and drowned.
An investigation by the Coast Guard and the Greek police is underway.
Migrant issue in Greece discussed by EU and Mitsotakis
The latest fatal incident involving migrants in Greece comes a few days after European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson’s visit to Greece. Johansson said that Greece has made noteworthy steps toward contemporary management of the migration issue.
In a post on social media, she said: “In Athens today where I met with PM Mitsotakis. We discussed the positive progress that Greece has made in managing migration in an orderly way, the need for more legal pathways and integration, as well as the crisis in the Middle East.”
On his part, Mitsotakis noted that “a fair migration policy does not mean open or non-existent borders, but rules.”
He pointed out that a European solution to the migration problem is needed and emphasized that the management of the problem will judge the credibility of the EU, adding that it must be proven in practice whether the EU knows how to translate its declarations into an effective policy.
He stressed that guarding its borders is non-negotiable for Greece. “An opponent of the state is anyone who is illegal,” Mitsotakis said, adding that illegal migrant flows in 2023 were much smaller than in previous years, and the government managed the problem much better than other European countries.
He pointed out that our country is often an intermediate station and the final goal of migrants is to go to northern European countries. He also stressed Greece’s role in guarding the eastern land and sea as well as European borders.
Related: EU Reaches ‘Historic’ Migration Deal
See all the latest news from Greece and the world at Greekreporter.com. Contact our newsroom to report an update or send your story, photos and videos. Follow GR on Google News and subscribe here to our daily email!
