Supervisor Elham AbolFateh
Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Greece: 16 Killed in New Migrant Boat Accident


Sat 25 Dec 2021 | 12:54 PM
Omnia Ahmed

At least sixteen people died when a migrant boat sank in the Aegean, Greece, media outlets reported on Saturday.

Just hours after a similar incident claimed another 11 lives, Greece's coastguard stated that this tragedy came amid high smuggler activity not seen in Greek waters in months.

A boat overturned and sank near the island of Paros, according to Athens News Agency. The coastguard found 16 bodies late Friday, including those of three women and a baby, and rescued 63 others.

Hours earlier, 11 bodies were recovered from a boat that ran aground on an islet north of the Greek island of Antikythera on Thursday evening.

The coastguard noted that ninety people stranded on the islet were rescued.

On Wednesday, a boast carrying migrants capsized off the island of Folegandros, killing at least three people.

Greek authorities announced that thirteen people were rescued, while dozens remain missing.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR affirmed that the Folegandros accident was the worst in the Aegean Sea this year.

"This shipwreck is a painful reminder that people continue to embark on perilous voyages in search of safety," said Adriano Silvestri, the UNHCR's assistant representative in Greece.