Twelve migrants, including an infant, were killed and 22 others rescued in two separate boat incidents off the Greek islands of Samos and Lesvos on Monday, Greek authorities said.
Six people died and 14 were rescued after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized about 3.7 nautical miles north of Samos, hours after another migrant boat collided with a Greek coast guard patrol vessel off Lesvos, killing six people.
According to Greek authorities, the boat near Samos overturned after making a sharp manoeuvre. A search-and-rescue operation was launched involving a navy vessel, a coast guard rescue boat and an air force helicopter.
In the earlier incident off Lesvos, four men, a woman and an infant died when a speedboat carrying migrants collided with a Greek coast guard patrol vessel in the early hours of Monday, reports Xinhua.
Authorities said the migrant boat had made dangerous manoeuvres in an attempt to evade a coast guard inspection before the collision.
Eight survivors, including four men, two women and two children, were rescued and taken to hospital for treatment.
The boat’s 37-year-old Turkish operator was arrested on suspicion of people smuggling. The circumstances surrounding the collision are under investigation.
Greek Minister of Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy Vassilis Kikilias expressed grief and anger over the deaths off Lesvos.
He reiterated the government’s zero-tolerance policy towards people smugglers, describing them as criminals who put desperate people’s lives at risk for profit.
Greece, on Europe’s southeastern frontier, remains a major entry point for migrants and refugees attempting to reach the European Union by sea.
