Greek and Turkish coastguards are still searching for two missing individuals from the two unrelated incidents.
Two boats carrying refugees sank in the narrow stretch of sea between Türkiye and the Greek island of Lesbos, resulting in at least 16 deaths, according to officials from both countries.
The incidents, involving boats carrying a total of approximately 66 people, occurred several hours apart on Thursday, with authorities on each side unaware of the other nation’s rescue operations.
On the Greek side, the coastguard reported that one of its patrol boats encountered a small dinghy, about five meters (5.5 yards) in length, that was taking on water. They rescued 23 people—11 minors, eight men, and four women—out of a reported total of 31 passengers.
Authorities later recovered the bodies of seven individuals—three women, two boys, one girl, and one man—after a search and rescue operation involving helicopters, coastguard vessels, and the FRONTEX European border agency.
The Greek coastguard stated that rescuers were still searching on Thursday evening for a young girl who had been reported missing by survivors.
One of the survivors, identified only as a 20-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of being a people smuggler after other passengers allegedly identified him as the person who piloted the dinghy, the coastguard said.
Separately, in Türkiye, authorities from the northwestern province of Çanakkale reported that the coastguard received an emergency call for help from a boat early Thursday morning. They rescued 25 people after deploying three boats and a helicopter.
The statement noted that nine bodies had been recovered, and the search for one missing person continued. Turkish media reported that the survivors were taken to a hospital in Türkiye.
Shipwrecks are common on the short but dangerous route between the Turkish coast and the nearby Greek islands of Samos, Rhodes, and Lesbos, which serve as entry points to the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty.
The Greek government has intensified its crackdown with increased sea patrols, prompting many smuggling networks to shift their operations southward, using larger boats to transport people from the northern coast of Africa to southern Greece.
Last year, more than 54,000 people used the eastern Mediterranean route to reach Greece, and over 7,700 crossed Greece’s small land border with Türkiye, according to United Nations figures.
A total of 125 people were reported dead or missing.
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