22 dead, dozens missing in migrant ships sink Greece
A local resident stands on a cliff as migrants’ bodies are seen alongside floating debris after a sailing boat carrying migrants crashed into rocks and sank off the island of Kythira in southern Greece. Thursday 6 October 2022. Residents of a Greek island have been shipwrecked migrants rescued from steep cliffs in dramatic rescue efforts after two boats sank in Greek waters, killing at least 21 people and many still missing. Bodies floated among shattered wrecks in windswept waters off a Greek island Thursday, while the death toll from the separate sinking of two migrant boats rose to 22, with many still missing.
The ships sank hundreds of miles away, in one case leading to a dramatic night rescue attempt as islanders and firefighters rescued shipwrecked migrants on steep cliffs. The shipwrecks have further stoked tensions between neighbors Greece and Turkey, who are locked in a heated dispute over maritime borders and migration.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed “deep sadness at the tragic loss of life” and praised the “heroic” efforts of the rescuers.
22 dead, dozens missing in migrant ships sink Greece
“This is the time to work much more together to prevent incidents like this in the future and to completely eradicate the smugglers who prey on innocent people” who are trying to reach Europe on unseaworthy boats, Mitsotakis added.
The coast guard on the eastern island of Lesbos in Greece said the bodies of 16 young African women, a man and a boy were recovered after a rubber boat carrying about 40 people sank. Ten women were rescued while 12 other migrants were thought to be missing, coast guard officials said.
