AP

Harrowing rescues save migrants off Greece; at least 22 die

Oct 5, 2022, 12:05 PM | Updated: Oct 6, 2022, 12:56 pm

Authorities and local residents save a migrant during a large-scale rescue operation on the island ...

Authorities and local residents save a migrant during a large-scale rescue operation on the island of Kythira, some 225 kilometers (140 miles) south of Athens, early Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022. The operation is underway off a southern Greek island where a sailboat carrying up to 100 migrants sank in high winds. The coast guard said its vessels, private boats and a rescue helicopter were involved in the effort off the coast of the island of Kythira. (Ippolytos Prekas/kythera.news via AP)

(Ippolytos Prekas/kythera.news via AP)

KYTHIRA, Greece (AP) — Bodies floated amid splintered wreckage in the wind-tossed waters off a Greek island Thursday as the death toll from the separate sinkings of two migrant smuggling boats rose to 22, with about a dozen still missing.

The vessels went down hundreds of miles apart, in one case prompting a dramatic overnight rescue effort as island residents and firefighters pulled shipwrecked migrants to safety up steep cliffs.

The shipwrecks further stoked tension between neighbors Greece and Turkey, who are locked in a heated dispute over maritime boundaries and migration. Both vessels are believed to have left from Turkey.

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis voiced “deep sorrow for the tragic loss of life,” and praised rescuers’ “heroic” efforts.

“This is a time to really cooperate much more substantially in order to avoid these types of incidents occurring in the future and to completely eradicate the smugglers who prey upon innocent people” trying to reach Europe in unseaworthy boats, Mitsotakis added.

The coast guard on Greece’s eastern island of Lesbos said the bodies of 16 young African women, a man and a boy were recovered after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Coast guard officials said 25 people were rescued by late Thursday.

“The women who were rescued were in a full state of panic so we are still trying to work out what happened,” coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told Greek state television.

The second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the southwest, off the island of Kythira, where an Italy-bound sailboat struck rocks in the night and sank.

The bodies of at least four migrants were seen amid floating debris from the yacht under the cliffs. The deaths would be officially recorded when the bodies were recovered, officials said. They added that 80 people, from Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran, had been rescued while a search continues for as many as 11 still believed to be missing.

“The waves was too much high, about 6 meters (20 feet),” said Abdul Ghafar Amur, a Afghan survivor of the wreck. “We tried to save our lives, but most of our friends, they have died.”

He said the people on the yacht had been at sea for two days when the vessel sank.

With gale-force winds overnight on Kythira, survivors clinging to ropes were pulled to safety up steep cliffs as others were buffeted by waves as they waited their turn on rocks at the bottom.

“All the residents here went down to the harbor to try and help,” island resident Martha Stathaki told The Associated Press. “We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight.”

Amur said he paid smugglers $9,000 to be transported from Turkey to Italy, which matched accounts by other survivors. The fate of the yacht’s captain was unknown, though some survivors said he was lost during the wreck.

Kythira is 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Turkey and on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head directly to Italy.

A volatile dispute is taking place between Greece and Turkey over the safety of migrants at sea, with Athens accusing its neighbor of failing to stop smugglers active on its shoreline and even using migrants to apply political pressure on the European Union.

Most migrants who reach Greece travel from nearby Turkey, but smugglers have changed routes — often taking greater risks — in recent months to avoid heavily patrolled waters around eastern Greek islands near the Turkish coastline.

“Once again, Turkey’s tolerance of gangs of ruthless traffickers has cost human lives,” Greek Shipping Minister Yannis Plakiotakis said. “As long as the Turkish coastguard does not prevent their activities, the traffickers cram unfortunate people, without safety measures, into boats that cannot withstand the weather conditions, putting their lives in mortal danger.”

Turkey denies the allegations and has publicly accused Greece of carrying out reckless summary deportations, known as pushbacks.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Greece of “turning the Aegean Sea into a graveyard.” ___ Follow AP’s coverage of global migration: https://apnews.com/hub/migration

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

4 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Harrowing rescues save migrants off Greece; at least 22 die