ATHENS (Reuters) – Three people drowned and two dozen are believed to be missing in the second migrant shipwreck off Greece this week, authorities said on Tuesday.
The coast guard said 16 people were rescued in a operation that began in the early hours of Tuesday after an inflatable rubber boat was spotted on rocks along the coast of the island of Lesbos, near Turkey.
Survivors told authorities about 41 people were on board the dinghy that had sailed from the Turkish coast. Two coast guard vessels and a Super Puma helicopter were assisting in the search operation amid strong winds, the coast guard said.
Greece has long been one of the main entry points into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Most cross on inflatable boats from Turkey, a short but perilous journey during which thousands have died.
Four migrants, including three children, died after their boat sank off the island of Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea on Sunday.
(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
