KITHIRA, Greece (Associated Press) – Bodies floated amid fragmented wreckage in the falling waters off a Greek island Thursday as the death toll from the sinking of two separate migrant boats rose to 22, with many still missing.
Ships exploded hundreds of miles away, in one case leading to a major rescue effort during the night as islanders and firefighters dragged wrecked migrants to the steep cliffs.
The shipwrecks have raised tension between Greece and Turkey, which are locked in a heated dispute over maritime borders and immigration.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his “deep sadness at the tragic loss of life” and praised the “heroic” efforts of the rescuers.
“This is the time to cooperate a lot more in order to avoid these kinds of accidents that happen in the future and completely eliminate the smugglers who prey on innocent people” trying to reach Europe in unseaworthy boats, Mitsotakis added.
The coast guard on the eastern Greek island of Lesbos said that the bodies of 16 African women, a man and a boy were found after a boat carrying about 40 people sank. Coast Guard officials said 10 women were rescued, while 12 other migrants are believed to be missing.
The last body of a man was found by divers from the European Union’s border agency Frontex, the Coast Guard said, who helped with search and rescue operations.
“The rescued women were in complete panic, so we are still trying to find out what happened,” coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told Greek television. All the women were from African countries, aged 20 years and over. …There is research on land as well as at sea, and hopefully the survivors can make it to land.”
The second rescue effort began several hundred kilometers to the southwest, off the island of Kythira, where a sailboat hit the rocks and sank.
The bodies of at least four migrants were seen among the wreckage floating from the yacht beneath the cliffs. Officials said the deaths would be officially recorded when the bodies were recovered. They added that 80 people have been rescued from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan, while the search continues for 11 people who are still believed to be missing.
With winds in the area reaching 70 kilometers per hour (45 miles per hour) overnight in Kythira, survivors clinging to the ropes were pulled to the steep cliffs where others were battered by waves as they waited their turn in small patches of rock at the bottom.
“All residents here have come down to the harbor to try and help,” Martha Stathaki, a local resident, told The Associated Press.
“We could see the boat crashing into the rocks and people climbing on those rocks trying to save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight.”
Kythira is located 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Turkey and on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head straight to Italy.
A turbulent dispute between Greece and Turkey revolves around the safety of migrants at sea, with Athens accusing its neighbor of failing to stop smugglers operating on its coast and even using migrants to put political pressure on the European Union.
Most migrants arriving in Greece travel from nearby Turkey, but smugglers have changed their routes – often at greater risk – in recent months in an effort to avoid the waters heavily patrolled around the eastern Greek islands near the Turkish coast.
“Once again, Turkey’s tolerance of ruthless gangs of smugglers has caused people to be killed,” said Greek Shipping Minister Yiannis Plakiotakis.
“As long as the Turkish Coast Guard does not prevent their activities, traffickers crowd unfortunate people, without safety measures, into boats that cannot withstand weather conditions, putting their lives in mortal danger.”
Turkey denies the allegations and has publicly accused Greece of carrying out reckless summary deportations, known as repatriations.
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Greece of “turning the Aegean Sea into a cemetery” and uploading pictures of dead migrant children. ___ Follow the AP’s coverage of global migration: https://apnews.com/hub/migration
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