2023-08-28 09:12:02
ATHENS (AP) — Four people died and 18 were rescued Monday following a boat carrying migrants apparently sank northeast of the Greek island of Lesbos, located just off the Turkish coast, Greek authorities said.
The coast guard service indicated that one of its ships rescued the 18 survivors and four people found unconscious and transported them to the port of Mytilene, the main port of the island.
Over the weekend, the Coast Guard said it had picked up dozens of people from boats near the eastern Aegean islands, part of a surge in new arrivals over the past two months.
For decades Greece has been one of the preferred points of entry into the European Union for people fleeing conflict or poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, and who aspire to a better life in Europe.
More than 14,000 people have arrived in Greece by land or sea so far this year, according to United Nations figures. That’s regarding a tenth of the total number of successful Mediterranean crossings, the bulk of which—some 104,000—went to Italy. Arrivals in Greece for all of 2022 totaled 19,000.
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