24 Migrants Drown In Greek Island After Boat Disaster
At least twenty-four refugees drowned while trying to enter Europe via Turkey when the boats carrying them capsized off a Greek island which brings the number of migrant casualties who died at sea in recent days to 80.
Apart from the confirmed deaths, 11 others were also believed to have gone missing when a boat carrying Iraqi Kurd passengers sank near the island of Samos in the Aegean Sea.
According to New York Times, the perilous journey was a disaster waiting to happen as the wooden boat- with a maximum capacity of 30- was forced to take in more passengers than it could carry, the investigators believed. As of the moment, investigations are still underway to unearth more details.
"The investigations are still ongoing because we do not know the exact number of people on the boat," said a Greek coast guard official as stated in a report by Al Jazeera.
Last year, an estimated 600, 000 or even more braved a perilous journey to Europe in fragile wooden boats mostly from war-torn nations in the Middle East such as Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Libya.
While many European countries are beginning to toughen regulations on asylum applications and mulling the possibility of mass expulsion, Greece chooses otherwise.
"More than 550,000 people passed through the island of Lesbos alone - which is but a dot on the global map - and we didn't close borders. Greece is doing a lot more than it can. Every state ... has to play its part and we count on them to show responsibility, trust and solidarity far more than they have shown today," remarked Philippe Leclerc, the UNHCR's acting Greece representative as quoted saying by Reuters.
