Twelve migrants die in separate boat incidents off Greek islands
Six people died after a collision off Lesbos and six after a capsize off Samos on 19 October. Greek authorities are investigating the Lesbos collision.
Twelve migrants died in two separate boat incidents off the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos on Monday, 19 October, according to Greek authorities. Six died after a collision with a patrol vessel off Lesbos, while six died when a boat overturned off Samos, Reuters and AFP reported. The collision's exact circumstances are under investigation.
Collision off Lesbos
Near Agrilia, a boat carrying migrants collided with a Greek coast guard vessel and overturned, Reuters reported, citing authorities. Eight survivors were taken to hospital. Greece's shipping minister, Vassilis Kikilias, said the evidence so far indicated that the boat's bow struck the left side of the coast guard vessel, but the exact circumstances remained under investigation.
The two reports agree that an infant was among the six people killed off Lesbos but conflict on the other victims. Reuters reported that four men and one woman died alongside the infant. AFP, citing a coast guard official, reported that a baby and four women were among the six dead. The differing accounts leave the full breakdown of the victims unclear.
Authorities arrested a 37-year-old Turkish survivor whom they identified as the suspected smuggler and operator of the Lesbos boat, Reuters reported. An arrest and that identification do not settle how the collision happened; Kikilias said the circumstances were still being investigated.
Capsize off Samos
About four nautical miles north of Samos, a speedboat carrying migrants from Turkey made a sudden manoeuvre and overturned, according to the Greek coast guard account reported by Reuters. Five men and one woman died. Fourteen men survived, and a search-and-rescue operation was under way when Reuters reported the incident.
Authorities arrested one of the Samos survivors, an Iranian national, on suspicion of migrant smuggling, Reuters reported. The Greek government blamed smugglers for the deaths in both incidents and pledged ‘zero tolerance’ toward them. Kikilias used the same phrase in a post about the Lesbos collision while saying its precise circumstances were still being examined.
Aegean crossing route
The Aegean is a route used by people crossing from Turkey toward Europe. Greece was at the front line of Europe's migration crisis in 2015 and 2016, when nearly one million people landed on its islands, mainly from Turkey, Reuters reported. AFP also cited a September sinking near Gavdos, off Crete, in which one person died and 25 remained missing. Those earlier events provide context for the risks on the route; the two October incidents happened off islands in the northeastern Aegean.
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Sources and context
- Twelve migrants, including infant, drown as boats capsize off Greek islandsReuters, republished by Al-Monitor
- Greek coast guard says 12 migrants die in Aegean sea crossingsThe Hindu (AFP report)
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.