Following the sinking of a dinghy carrying migrants from the neighboring Turkish coasts, a child and a woman were found drowned off the Greek island of Leros on Sunday (February 5th), the Greek coast guard announced. .
Thirty-three people were rescued, including six children who were taken to Leros hospital, they added, adding that a rescue operation was still underway to possibly find other migrants.
Three coastguard boats and a Super Puma helicopter are mobilized, but the weather conditions – strong winds and rough seas – make rescue operations difficult, according to the same sources. The alert was given by a fisherman who found the body of the woman at sea, specifies the Editors’ Journal (Efsyn).
Increase in shipwrecks
According to testimonies collected by the coast guard and the police, the inflatable boat was carrying nearly forty exiles, including children, women, and people with reduced mobility. In December, a 2-month-old baby was found dead after a shipwreck off the island of Lesvos.
The human tragedies in the Aegean Sea are increasing due to the risks taken by migrants who board makeshift boats on a stormy, even raging sea in winter. Since 2014, 2,246 people fleeing wars and poverty have drowned in the eastern Mediterranean, according to IOM, the International Organization for Migration.