Athens: Two boats carrying refugees sink, many dead. Seventeen people have been confirmed dead in one accident and five in the second. Many people are missing. So far, the bodies of 16 women and one man of African origin have been recovered from the first accident near the Greek island of Lesbos.
The death toll is expected to rise. The accident happened when the boat left the coast of Turkey. Nine people were rescued. At least 15 people are missing. A spokesman for the Greek coast guard said the search for survivors was continuing at sea and on land.
Five people are estimated to have died in a second accident near the Peloponnese peninsula in Greece. Due to strong wind, the boat hit the rocks and crashed. There were about 100 refugees from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. 80 people have been rescued. The search is on for others. About 20 people are reported to be missing.
Greece has called on Turkey to take urgent action to stem the flow of refugees after two accidents on the same day killed several people. So far this year, more than 1.5 million people have tried to land in Greece as refugees from Turkey, the Greek Migration Minister said. At the same time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused that Greece’s continued oppression of refugees is turning the Aegean Sea into a graveyard.