Six new bodies have been found after the shipwrecks in Greece on Wednesday and Thursday of two boats with migrants on board, the Greek coastguard announced on Saturday, raising the death toll to at least 29. They were rescued near the island of Cythera, south of the Peloponnese peninsula, where a sailboat carrying 95 migrants ran aground overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. On Friday, five bodies had already been found in this area.
Bad weather conditions made the search difficult on Saturday.
80 people rescued
Dozens of survivors, mainly from Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, stranded at the foot of a cliff were rescued on Thursday and 80 in all were saved. One of them, suspected of being a smuggler, was detained, state broadcaster Ert reported on Saturday.
At least 18 people, mostly women, died in another shipwreck off Lesvos, an island in the eastern Mediterranean, at dawn Thursday. The boat was carrying 40 Somalis, of whom only ten were wearing life jackets.
The Greek Coast Guard said it rescued nearly 1,500 people in the first eight months of the year, some 600 more than last year.
“We must put pressure on Turkey at the EU level to prevent illegal departures from Turkey, otherwise the loss of life will continue.” Greek Migration Minister Notis Mitarachi said on Saturdayat the MED5 conference in Paphos, which brings together the five Mediterranean countries at the forefront of welcoming immigrants (Greece, Spain, Cyprus, Malta and Italy).
These countries expect the arrival of 160,000 migrants this year on their shores, Notis Mitarachi had indicated last month.
Source: BFM TV
