Five dead, dozens missing in Greece migrant boat sinking
Five migrants died early Saturday when a migrant boat sank
off Crete, Greece's coastguard said, leaving 40 people reportedly missing while
39 survivors were rescued.
The boat sank 12 nautical miles southwest of the island,
according to ERTNEWS, which reported the 40 missing.
A huge rescue operation involving vessels and aircraft was
underway in the sea south of the island of Gavdos, south of Crete, after the
boat capsized shortly after midnight, the coastguard said.
Local media said another man was taken by helicopter to
hthe ospital in the city of Chania on Crete and was admitted to intensive care.
Saturday afternoon, the coastguard told AFP that the number
of migrants found dead had risen to five.
Greece has seen a 25-percent increase this year in the
number of migrants arriving, with a 30-percent increase to Rhodes and the
southeast Aegean, according to the migration ministry.
Several similar accidents have occurred in recent weeks. In
late November, eight migrants, six of them minors, died north of the island of
Samos, on a route frequently used by people smugglers.
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