At least 21 die in boat sinkings off Greek islands
- 8 years ago
At least 21 people died in two separate incidents of boats smuggling migrants or refugees sinking off two Greek islands overnight into Friday.
In the first incident, a wooden boat carrying 48 people sank in the early hours off the small islet of Farmakonissi in the eastern Aegean.
A few hours later, a wooden sailboat carrying an undetermined number of people sank off the islet of Kalolimnos, to the south of Farmakonissi.
The coast guard rescued 26 people and recovered 14 bodies, while coast guard vessels, a helicopter and private boats were searching for survivors.
Authorities said the survivors' estimates of how many people had originally been on board varied from about 40 to 70, so it was unclear how many people were missing.
In the first incident, a wooden boat carrying 48 people sank in the early hours off the small islet of Farmakonissi in the eastern Aegean.
A few hours later, a wooden sailboat carrying an undetermined number of people sank off the islet of Kalolimnos, to the south of Farmakonissi.
The coast guard rescued 26 people and recovered 14 bodies, while coast guard vessels, a helicopter and private boats were searching for survivors.
Authorities said the survivors' estimates of how many people had originally been on board varied from about 40 to 70, so it was unclear how many people were missing.