Twelve migrants drown in two boat accidents off Lesbos and Samos

ANKARA: Twelve migrants drowned on Monday in two separate accidents near the islands of Lesbos and Samos in the north-eastern Aegean Sea, Greece, according to Reuters. Officials said that in both incidents the boats capsized while the coast guard was chasing them to stop them.

Near Agrelia on Lesbos, a boat carrying migrants collided with a Greek coast guard vessel and capsized. Four men, one woman and an infant died in the accident, while eight survivors were taken to hospital. Officials have arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national among the survivors. He has been described as the alleged smuggler and the person who steered the boat.

Greece’s Minister for Maritime Affairs and Insular Policy, Vasilis Kikilias, said that, according to the evidence so far, the speedboat rammed the left side of the coast guard vessel with its bow. He said an investigation into the exact circumstances of the incident was under way. He wrote on X that six people, including an infant, had lost their lives because of the criminal actions of modern-day human traffickers.

The second accident took place about four nautical miles north of Samos. According to the Greek coast guard, a speedboat carrying migrants from Turkiye suddenly changed course and capsized. Five men and one woman died, while 14 men survived. The search and rescue operation was continuing. One of the survivors, an Iranian national, was arrested on suspicion of human trafficking.

The Greek government announced “zero tolerance” for human traffickers and held them responsible for the deaths. Kikilias called this a non-negotiable position.

For years, Greece has been a major entry point into Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It was on the front line in the European migrant crisis of 2015 and 2016, when about one million people, mostly from Turkiye, reached its islands. Athens has since adopted a tougher policy. Human rights organisations accuse it of forcibly returning migrants and asylum seekers at its sea and land borders. Greece rejects the charge and says its coast guard operates with full respect for human life and rights.