WORLD NEWS: SEVEN DIE, 23 RESCUED IN GREECE BOAT ACCIDENT

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Seven people, including two children, died, and 23 others were rescued Thursday when an inflatable boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Lesbos, the coast guard said.

The coast guard initially said four bodies had been discovered in the Aegean Sea, but after a search by patrol boats, three others were found, a spokeswoman told AFP.

The boat was carrying about 30 people and capsized in mild weather a short distance from the coast of neighboring Turkey.

“Their boat took on water and started to sink,” the spokeswoman said, adding that searches for any other survivors were ongoing.

According to the Coast Guard, four ladies, a boy, and a girl were among the deceased. Regarding the remaining three, no information has been made public, including their nationality.

Greece’s islands are frequently used by illegal migrants from Asia and the Middle East attempting to reach western Europe because of their location in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, far southeast of Europe.

Deaths during the treacherous passage are frequent. Nearly 2,500 deaths were reported last year, according to the UN.

Greek marine police said last month that a smuggler had abandoned migrants attempting to cross from Turkey, resulting in one death and the rescue of eighteen others.

According to the UN refugee agency, nearly 9,000 people have entered Greece since the start of the year, most of them by sea.

There were over 54,000 entries in 2024, according to the agency’s figures.

Greece’s conservative government has hardened the country’s stance on migration.

“If you want to enter Greece illegally and are not entitled to asylum, we will do whatever we can to send you back where you came from,” Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in parliament on Wednesday.

“Smugglers and NGOs cooperating with them will not determine who enters our country,” he said.

AFP