At least 4 individuals, together with two kids, died Tuesday when a migrant boat carrying migrants sank off the Greek island of Kos, Greek authorities confirmed Wednesday.
A coast guard assertion stated 27 individuals had been rescued and no person was listed as lacking. It stated that in line with survivors, the accident occurred when the particular person steering the small boat made a careless maneuver simply off Kos.
Ten passengers fell into the water and two ladies and two kids died, the coast guard stated. The survivors had been picked up by coast guard vessels.
Greek authorities are bracing for a potential surge in migrant arrivals as a result of ongoing preventing in Lebanon and Gaza.
Earlier Tuesday, an official warned that wars within the Middle East and Africa, mixed with the consequences of local weather change, will put Europe underneath steady long-term strain from immigration.
Sofia Voultepsi, a deputy minister for migration, additionally stated a landmark European Union migration pact earlier this yr remained missing in sensible phrases.
“We got the (agreement), but the basic piece is still missing: Returns,” Voultepsi said. “We will need to have a typical system for asylum, a typical system for returns and a typical system for integration.”
The EU migration pact is because of take impact in mid-2026 following a brand new spherical of negotiations with the bloc’s 27 member states, anticipated to final a few yr.
Voultepsi additionally expressed alarm on the rising variety of refugees in Lebanon due to ongoing Israeli airstrikes focusing on the armed group, Hezbollah.
Greece is a serious entry level for migrants into the EU, with most crossing from Türkiye and Libya in unsafe boats.
Earlier Tuesday, the coast guard stated 81 migrants had been rescued from a stranded vessel touring from Türkiye to Italy. The rescue was carried out Sunday with the help of two service provider vessels. The rescued migrants instructed Greek authorities they’d paid $8,500 every for the journey.
Elsewhere in Europe, an Italian navy ship was anticipated to dock at an Albanian port with a primary group of 16 migrants intercepted in worldwide waters. Their asylum purposes will probably be processed in Albania as a substitute of Italy underneath a five-year settlement between the 2 nations.
In Poland, Prime Minister Donald Tusk plans to droop the suitable to asylum briefly. The new migration coverage was offered at a Cabinet assembly Tuesday.
Source: www.dailysabah.com