Infant among twelve migrants dead after boats capsize off Greek islands
The government vowed ‘zero tolerance’ towards migrant smugglers, whom it blamed for the deaths
Twelve migrants have drowned in two separate incidents off Lesbos and Samos in the northeastern Aegean Sea on Monday, after their vessels capsized as the coast guard pursued them, authorities said.
The Greek coast guard said that five men and one woman died after a speedboat carrying migrants from Turkey made a sudden manoeuvre and overturned approximately four nautical miles north of Samos.
Fourteen men survived and a search-and-rescue operation was under way. Authorities have arrested one of the survivors, an Iranian national, on suspicion of migrant smuggling.
Earlier, four men, one woman and an infant died when their boat collided with a Greek coast guard vessel and overturned off Agrilia in Lesbos. Eight survivors were taken to hospital.
Authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish national who was among the eight survivors and identified him as the suspected smuggler and operator of the boat.
The government has vowed "zero tolerance" towards migrant smugglers, whom it blamed for the deaths.
On the incident off Lesbos, Greece's shipping minister Vassilis Kikilias said evidence so far indicated the speedboat struck the left side of a coast guard vessel with its bow, adding that the exact circumstances were under investigation.
"Our position is non-negotiable: zero tolerance for smugglers," he said in a post on X.
Greece has been for years a favoured gateway to Europe for migrants and refugees from the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
The country was at the front line of Europe's migration crisis in 2015-2016, while nearly 1 million people landed on its islands, mainly from Turkey.
It has since toughened its stance and has been accused by human rights groups of forcibly returning migrants and asylum-seekers on its sea and land borders, a practice it denies, saying its coast guard acts with full respect for human lives and rights.
