Aegean Sea: 39 migrants die in shipwreck, five are children

At least 39 migrants, including five children, died in a new shipwreck in the Aegean Sea.

The boat with which they tried to reach Greece turned over. This was reported by a head of the Turkish Coast Guard. The migrants had left the Turkish province of Canakkale andapparently tried to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.

The death toll could further deteriorate, according to the Turkish authorities, which explain that attempts are still underway to reach the 17-meters deep boat wreck. “He hit the rocks shortly after sailing and unfortunately sank. We believe there are other bodies trapped in the boat,” said Canakkale deputy governor, Saim Eskioglu. So far 75 people have been rescued, while 33 bodies have been recovered so far.

The Turkish coast guard continues the search for any survivors at the point where the boat sank, off the Turkish town of Ayvacik, facing the Greek coasts of Lesvos. It is not yet known how many migrants were on board. Among the victims, five children, many arehospitalized with severe symptoms of hypothermia. The passengers were Syrian, Afghan and Burmese.

Last Thursday 24 migrants, including 10 children , died in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Samos. Over one million refugees and migrants arrived by land and sea in the European Union last year, and 3,600 died or went missing – the heaviest budget everrecorded according to figures released by the International Organization of Migrants.

About half a million people have left the war-torn Syria to try to reach Europe. The route involves the transfer to Turkey of barges and rafts that should reach the shores of the Greek islands, in EU territory. But most of the shipwrecks occurred in these parts of the sea. The journeys of hope continued even in the early days of 2016, despite the often-adverse weather conditions.

Last November, Turkey reached an agreement with the EU with which it is committed to controlling migrant flows in exchange for aid amounting to 3 billion euros to assist the 2.5 million refugees who are still in Turkish territory.

The tragedy of refugees has various dramatic aspects. A drama in the drama is that of unaccompanied minors: Europol has indicated that at least 10,000 have disappeared after their arrival in Europe, 5,000 of which have disappeared in Italy and another 1,000 in Sweden.

(30 January 2016)