Twelve migrants, including an infant, lost their lives on Monday in two separate maritime accidents off the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos in the Aegean Sea, according to statements from the Greek coast guard.
The first incident occurred in the early hours of Monday morning near Lesbos, in the northeastern Aegean, when a speedboat carrying migrants collided with the port police patrol vessel, a coast guard official reported.
Collision Near Lesbos Leaves Six Dead
Six people—one man, four women, and an infant—were found dead following the collision, while eight others survived, the official said. Among the survivors was a suspected Iranian smuggler, according to the coast guard.
The second disaster struck at dawn approximately 3.7 nautical miles off the coast of Samos, in the eastern Aegean, when a migrant vessel capsized.
Capsizing Off Samos Claims Six More Lives
In that incident, six people—five men and one woman—were recovered dead, while fourteen others survived, including the suspected Iranian trafficker, the coast guard official confirmed.
Deadly accidents involving migrant boats attempting to reach Europe via the Greek islands of the northern and eastern Aegean—situated close to the western Turkish coast—as well as through Crete in the south, are a recurring phenomenon.
In September, one person died and twenty-five others went missing when a migrant boat sank off the Greek island of Gavdos, near Crete, underscoring the persistent dangers faced by those undertaking the sea crossing.
