One migrant dies off Lesvos, another missing
The body of one of the two women that went missing after a dinghy carrying migrants boat sank off the northeastern coast of the island of Lesvos on Wednesday morning was recovered later in the day.
A search and rescue operation by the Hellenic Coast Guard and the European Union border agency Frontex was ongoing in the area late on Wednesday to locate the other woman.
A total of 32 people – 15 men, 14 women and three children – all of Somali origin, were rescued in the morning.
They were transferred to an enclosed area of the port of Mytilene and from there to the quarantine structure at the temporary camp of Kara Tepe.
Among those rescued was a 26-year-old foreign national who had reportedly been skippering the boat.
He was arrested on suspicion of people trafficking.
Migration and Asylum Minister Notis Mitarakis expressed his regret, and pointed the finger of blame at Turkey for allegedly ignoring a distress signal sent out by the boat.
“Based on the testimonies of the rescued migrants, the Turkish coast guard vessel that located them initially [the migrants called an emergency number] did not help or rescue them, but allowed them instead to illegally cross the maritime borders of the European Union,” Mitarakis said in a post on social media.
