38 Refugees drowned as boat sinks off Greek coastAt least 38 refugees including at least 14 children drowned as the migrant boat sank off the Greek Island of Farmakonisi, on sunday the Greek coastguard has said.
The boat was carrying over 125 refugees out of which 68 were rescued, thousands have died, many of them taking the much longer crossing from Libya, in Europe’s worst migrant crisis in decades.
Details of the nationalities and ages of the victims were not immediately available.The toll is thought to be the largest recorded from any single accident in Greek waters since the refugee crisis began.
“Divers have recovered a number of victims still trapped in the vessel.”
Most refugees reaching Greece quickly head north to other countries, with Germany the most favoured destination.
EU states have so far failed to reach agreement over proposals by commission president Jean-Claude Juncker to accept a mandatory quota system for taking refugees.