A boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek coast early Wednesday. It is the most destructive accident in Greek waters this year.
The death toll from the boat accident off Greece is increasing. At least 78 people have drowned in the accident, reports the Reuters news agency.
A boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek coast early Wednesday. By noon, 104 people had been rescued from the water, but the authorities do not yet have exact information on how many people were on board the boat.
– We fear that the number of victims will increase, an official source told Reuters.
It is the worst accident in Greek waters this year.
According to the Greek authorities, the majority of passengers were men from Afghanistan, Egypt, Syria and Pakistan. The rescued have been transported to the city of Kalamata.
A representative of the international migration organization IOM estimated to AFP that there could have been up to four hundred passengers on board, .
The boat was reportedly on its way from Libya to Italy.
A large number of passengers on deck refused help and said they wanted to continue their journey, Greek border officials said, according to news agency AFP and Reuters.
More and more migrants are arriving across the Mediterranean
One of the main routes for refugees from the Middle East, Asia and Africa to Europe goes through Greece.
More and more boats are also making the longer and more dangerous journey from Turkey via Greece to Italy.
According to the UN refugee agency UNHCR in 2022, 159,410 people arrived in Europe across the Mediterranean. The number was the highest since 2017.
During this year, there are more than 72,700 refugees and migrants According to UN statistics came to the Mediterranean countries of Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta and Cyprus.
In the past five years, 10,852 people have been killed or disappeared on the route.
According to the statistics, there are more than a thousand migrants who have died this year.