5 children die after migrant boats sink off Greece

ATHENS, Greece – At least 5 children died when boats carrying migrants sank off Greece on Wednesday, October 28, as rescue workers battled to save more youngsters on the seashore in the latest desperate scenes in Europe’s refugee crisis.

Two adults also died as 4 vessels went down on the dangerous sea crossing from Turkey, and more than 200 people, many suffering hypothermia, were rescued from one sinking off the north coast of the Greek island of Lesbos.

Images from Lesbos, a major entry point for the flow of migrants trying to get to Europe, showed doctors and paramedics fighting to revive at least one child on the island’s shoreline. The child was later taken to hospital in a critical condition.

Patrol vessels, fishing boats and even locals on jet skis joined in efforts to search into the night for more survivors in the water, struggling with strong winds.

Port police said it was not clear how many people might be in the water, with survivors giving a confusing picture of how many were on the boat that capsized off Lesbos.

The new accidents brought to 36 the number of migrants found dead in Greek waters this month, according to an Agence France-Presse tally based on data from Greek port police.

Since the start of the year, 560,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Greece by sea, out of over 700,000 who have reached Europe via the Mediterranean, according to the International Office for Migration (IOM).

More than 3,200 people have died during these crossings, most of them children, the IOM says. 

Also Wednesday, Europe’s Operation Sophia rescued about 1,000 migrants from six dinghies and a fishing boat off the Libyan coast, the Italian coastguard said.

The rescues were carried out by Italian, British, Slovenian and German vessels, it said.

Operation Sophia, coordinated by Italy, was set up to arrest smugglers and seize their vessels as Europe tries to stem the flow of migrants making the perilous sea crossing.

All the rescued migrants are now headed to Italy, the Italian coastguard said. – Rappler.com