A migrant boat capsized near the Greek island of Samos, resulting in the tragic deaths of at least eight individuals, six of whom were children. The Greek coastguard reported that around 40 survivors have been rescued following an aggressive search-and-rescue operation involving both aircraft and marine vessels in the Aegean Sea. The coastguard indicated that adverse weather conditions, characterized by strong winds, have hampered these rescue efforts.
The alert was issued by a non-governmental organization, which indicated that approximately 50 people were on board at the time of the incident. Greece's Minister of Migration, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, expressed profound sorrow and anger over the event, while insisting on a commitment to combat human smuggling operations that contribute to such tragedies.
Samos has long been a pivotal entry point for those seeking to migrate to Europe, situated only a short distance from the Turkish mainland. This location has experienced a surge in migrant arrivals, with over 50,000 reported to have reached Greece by boat in 2023 alone—making it the second most frequented route into Europe, following Italy.
Recent data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) indicates that although migrant influxes had been declining since August, numbers began rising once more as summer approached. In total, around 160,000 asylum-seekers arrived in Europe via sea this year, with at least 2,000 individuals recorded as either dead or missing. Disturbingly, children constituted approximately 23% of these arrivals, shedding light on the vulnerable demographics caught in this humanitarian crisis.
