At least four migrants have died after their boat ran aground on an islet in southern Greece on Thursday, the Greek coast guard said. Some 90 migrants are currently stranded on the islet in the north of the Greek island of Greece. ‘Antikythera but cannot be evacuated until Friday morning due to bad weather conditions, state television said. Several Coast Guard vessels have been deployed as part of a search and rescue operation. Thursday’s sinking came the day after an inflatable dinghy carrying migrants capsized off the island of Folegandros, also in southern Greece, which left at least three people dead.
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Thirteen people were then rescued, while dozens of others are still missing, according to the Greek authorities. Survivors have given conflicting accounts, with some saying there were initially 32 people on board, while others put the figure at around 50, a coast guard official told AFP. The UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said the shipwreck off Folegandros was the worst in the Aegean Sea this year.
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“This shipwreck is a painful reminder that people continue to embark on perilous journeys in search of safetyReacted Adriano Silvestri, the deputy representative of the UNHCR in Greece. UNHCR estimates that more than 2,500 people died or disappeared at sea trying to reach Europe between January and November. Almost a million people, mostly Syrian refugees, arrived in the EU in 2015 after traveling from Turkey to nearby Greek islands.