Capsizing of Iranian and Afghan Refugee Boat in Aegean Sea Claims Lives

Four people drowned after a boat carrying 15 Iranian and Afghan refugees capsized. Many refugees continue to undertake the dangerous journey across the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece in makeshift boats in their attempt to reach the European Union.

According to Turkish Coast Guard data, at least 4 refugees drowned while crossing the Aegean Sea. The victims were three women and one Afghan child. They were traveling along with eleven other Iranians and Afghans in a makeshift fiberglass boat from Turkish shores toward the island of Lesbos in Greece, but a storm caused the boat to capsize. The Turkish Coast Guard managed to rescue 11 refugees who were drowning.

The short 10-kilometer distance between the Turkish coast and the island of Lesbos often provides an opportunity for refugees to risk the dangerous journey across the sometimes stormy Aegean Sea. At the peak of refugee movement in 2015 from Turkey to Greece, large numbers of refugees entered this route daily, and for many of them it resulted in tragic outcomes. Since the signing of an agreement between Turkey and the European Union to prevent refugee movement, the number of refugees attempting to enter the European Union through this route has significantly decreased, and consequently the number of casualties has also declined.

Currently, 15,000 refugees are housed on Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. 5,000 of them are staying in a camp on Lesbos that has capacity for only 3,100 people. 30 percent of these refugees are children and adolescents, and a significant number of those under twelve years old are among them, and most of them are unaccompanied by adults.

Source: DW