In Greece, eight migrants died when their boat sank

Among these victims are two women and six children or adolescents, according to the Greek coast guard. Strong winds make rescue operations difficult.

Eight people – six minors and two women – died in the sinking of a migrant boat off the Greek island of Samos, the Greek coast guard announced Monday, November 25. Thirty-six people were rescued.

Rescue operations continue in the north of this island in the eastern Aegean Sea, close to the Turkish coast, from where many boats carrying migrants wishing to enter the European Union leave. They are made difficult by the violent winds which blow in the area.

Greece has seen a 25% increase in the number of arrivals of people fleeing war and poverty since the start of the year, as well as a 30% increase in flows to the Dodecanese archipelago and the south -east of the Aegean Sea. “The south-east of the Aegean Sea and the island of Rhodes are currently experiencing migratory pressure”admitted the Minister of Migration, ensuring that this increase was not really linked to the conflicts in the Middle East.