At least 15 people died when their vessel sank off the Greek island of Lesbos in the central Aegean Sea early on Thursday, Oct. 6 in the second maritime disaster involving migrants since Wednesday — the country’s coastguard said.
The sunken boat was carrying about 40 people, the coastguard said, citing five people that have been rescued so far. Coast guard video showed rescuers pulling a migrant from the sea. There were 15 bodies recovered, the agency said. That leaves about 20 people missing. The boat sank east of Lesbos, which lies close to Turkey’s coast.
A Greek coastguard vessel and an air force helicopter were conducting a search and rescue with strong winds blowing in the area.
A search was being conducted along the wider coast of Lesbos for migrants who may have made it to the shores. Three were found trapped in a remote area.
In an earlier incident, Greek authorities rescued 30 migrants whose boat sank after hitting a rocky area in stormy waters near the island of Kythira in southern Greece on Oct. 5. Coast guard video showed the migrants trapped on the small shore of a cliff with the shattered remains of their boat in the water, as rescuers pulled them up with ropes to land above.
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By Reuters. (Production: Vassilis Triandafyllou, Deborah Kyvrikosaios)
