4 dead as migrant boat capsizes off Greek island

By Furkan Naci Top

ATHENS

Greek authorities recovered the bodies of four people, including two children, after a boat carrying at least 10 migrants capsized off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos on Wednesday.

The Greek Coast Guard said six people had been rescued so far and that the rescue operation was ongoing.

Two other inflatable boats arrived on the shores of Lesbos, carrying 90 other migrants on Wednesday morning, Athens-Macedonian News Agency reported.

According to figures released by the Turkish Coast Guard, a total of 279 migrants lost their lives in the Aegean in 2015, mainly through unsafe vessels, such as inflatable boats.

Over the past year, thousands of people have made short but perilous attempts to cross the Aegean in a bid to reach Greece via Turkey, before continuing their journey to northern and western Europe.

A refugee deal between Turkey and the EU, signed on March 18, aims to discourage irregular migration through the Aegean Sea by taking stricter measures against human traffickers and improving the conditions of nearly three million Syrian refugees in Turkey.

*Anadolu Agency Correspondent Fatma Bulbul contributed to this report from Ankara.