An extensive search was under way off a Greek island Lesbos yesterday for at least 34 people still missing after their boat sank, in one of the largest maritime disasters since the massive influx of refugees began this year.
Five children, two men and one woman were known to have drowned after the wooden boat, crammed with more than 280 people, sank north of the Greek island of Lesbos on Wednesday.
Some 242 people on board the wooden vessel were plucked from the sea by Greek coastguard vessels and fishing boats after their boat sank about three kilometres north of the island.
A helicopter from the European border protection agency Frontex joined the search by the coastguard off the northern coast of the island yesterday morning.
Dozens of paramedics and volunteers helped in the effort to assist the survivors, wrapping them in foil blankets and prioritising ambulance transport.
Eighteen children were taken to hospital, with three reported to be in a serious condition. At least 11 people, mostly children, died in five separate incidents in the eastern Aegean Sea on Wednesday, the coastguard said, as thousands of people continue to head to the Greek islands from Turkey in frail boats and stormy weather.
Lesbos has borne the brunt of the refugee crisis in Greece, with more than 300,000 reaching the island this year and the number of daily arrivals recently peaking at 7,500.
More than 500,000 refugees have entered Greece through its outlying islands since January, travelling on to central and northern Europe in what has become the biggest humanitarian crisis on the continent in two decades.
Lesbos, which lies less than 10km from the coast of Turkey, has been a primary gateway for thousands of refugees crossing the European Union’s outermost border and there has recently been a surge in crossings as refugees attempt to beat the oncoming winter weather.
Circumstances of the sinking of the vessel on Wednesday afternoon were unclear but witnesses said traffickers had forced passengers on to the boat at gunpoint because they were fearful about the vessel’s seaworthiness.
The boat sank when its upper deck, which was crammed with people, collapsed on to the lower desk, according to Greek broadcaster ERT.
Elsewhere, another 123 people were rescued off the islands of Samos and in another incident off Lesbos.
In total, 16 people drowned on Wednesday, including 11 children, the coast guard said. A baby has been missing for more than 12 hours.
Doctors and volunteers on Lesbos made desperate efforts to help a baby breathe, TV footage showed.
Some of the survivors were sheltered in a chapel, a witness said.
The latest sinkings came just after EU leaders met on Sunday and agreed to boost cooperation and provide UN-aided housing for 100,000 people, half of them in Greece.
The EU is expected to cover the cost of accommodation for 20,000 people in leased apartments, in addition to temporary camps for 30,000 more.
But nations needed to stop fudging responsibility for the crisis, said German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“I am convinced that we won’t get anywhere if we just point the finger at each other, if one considers that the responsibility lies with the other,” Steinmeier, who was in Athens, said during a meeting with Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos.
“It’s clear that Greece – which is trying to get back on its feet right now – is feeling this influx as a particular burden,” he added.
“We will really support Greece in dealing with these big challenges.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment