Greek and Turkish coastguards still searching for two missing people from the two unrelated accidents.Two boats carrying refugees sank in the narrow stretch of sea between Turkiye and the Greek island of Lesbos, leaving at least 16 people dead, according to officials from both countries.
The accidents on the boats, which together carried about 66 people, occurred several hours apart on Thursday, with authorities on either side unaware of the other nation’s rescue efforts.
On the Greek side, the country’s coastguard said that one of its patrol boats came across a small dinghy of about five metres (5.5 yards) in length that was taking on water, and rescued 23 people – 11 minors, eight men and four women – out of a reported total of 31 passengers.
Authorities later recovered the bodies of seven people – three women, two boys, one girl and one man – after a search and rescue operation that included helicopters, vessels from the coastguard, and the FRONTEX European border agency.
The Greek coastguard said rescuers were still searching on Thursday evening for a young girl who had been reported as missing by survivors. Advertisement
One of the survivors, identified only as a 20-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of being a people smuggler after other passengers allegedly identified him as having piloted the dinghy, the coastguard said.
Separately in Turkiye, authorities from the northwestern province of Canakkale said the coastguard r …
