WEB DESK: Two boats carrying migrants capsized in the narrow sea passage between Türkiye and the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving at least 16 people dead, officials from both countries confirmed on Thursday.
The incidents happened several hours apart and involved around 66 people in total. Authorities in Türkiye and Greece said they were unaware of each other’s rescue efforts at the time.
On the Greek side, the Hellenic Coast Guard reported that one of its patrol vessels spotted a small five-metre-long dinghy taking on water. Twenty-three people were rescued, including 11 children, eight men, and four women, out of a total of 31 passengers.
Rescue teams later recovered the bodies of seven individuals, including three women, two boys, a girl, and a man. The search for a missing girl was ongoing till Thursday evening, with helicopters, coastguard boats, and FRONTEX teams involved.
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Greek officials said a 20-year-old survivor was taken into custody on suspicion of people smuggling after passengers claimed he was steering the dinghy.
Meanwhile, in Türkiye’s Canakkale province, coastguard officials said they received a distress call early Thursday. Twenty-five people were rescued, while nine bodies were recovered. The search for one more missing person is still underway.
The rescued individuals were shifted to a nearby hospital. Authorities have not yet confirmed their nationalities.
Deaths on this eastern Mediterranean route, from Turkey towards Greece, are relatively common. The UNHCR said in 2024, 125 people were recorded as dead or missing in migrant boats capsize incidents. Greek maritime police said that in March, at least one migrant died, and 18 others were rescued on this route, after the smuggler abandoned them part of the way, in order to try and escape the controls and return to Turkey undetected, reported AFP.