New Delhi: At least 17 people, including sixteen women and one man, died when a boat carrying refugees and migrants sank off the coasts of Lesvos island in the Aegean Sea, Greece’s Coast Guard said on Thursday morning.
Citing witness accounts, reports suggest that about 40 people were on board when the incident happened and that rescue operation was underway.
There were 17 bodies recovered, the country’s coast guard official said.
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The boat sank east of Lesbos, which lies close to Turkey’s coast.
All victims were young women of African origin, Hellenic Coast Guard spokesperson Nikos Kokkalas told Greek national broadcaster ERT, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
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Meanwhile, 80 people have been rescued off the island of Kythira in southern Greece after another boat crashed onto rocks and sank on Wednesday night, he said.
Survivors said approximately 95 people were on the boat while two had been found dead by Thursday morning.
Both rescue operations were hampered by strong winds reaching Category 8 on the Beaufort wind force scale, the report quoted authorities as saying.
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