Child among eight dead as irregular migrant boat capsizes off Greece

A speedboat carrying irregular migrants capsized on Friday morning off the eastern Greek island of Rhodes, leaving eight dead, Greek authorities said.

The coast guard said the incident occurred while the speedboat was carrying out “dangerous maneuvres” to try and evade a patrol vessel, causing migrants to fall into the sea.

Eighteen of the migrants were rescued.

Rescue workers on three coast guard vessels and a helicopter were working near the resort area of Afantou Beach in the northeast of the island.

It was unclear whether other passengers were missing, authorities said.

Child among dead

Shipping Minister Christos Stylianides said a child was among the dead.

Authorities confirmed that two of the survivors were arrested on people smuggling charges.

“Tragically, once again, the ruthless trafficking network has sacrificed eight human lives today, including a young child, in pursuit of illegal profit,” he said.

“We are determined to resolutely address the major problem of illegal migration that has exceeded the European Union’s capacity to cope.”

Eight of the survivors were hospitalised, local officials said, with one of them in critical condition, according to state-run television.

Rhodes, one of several large Greek islands located near the coast of Türkiye, is on a busy illegal smuggling route in the eastern Mediterranean.

At the main port of the island, police and ambulance workers held up sheets of gray tarp as the recovered bodies were carried into an ambulance.

Authorities in Athens are bracing for a spike in irregular migrant arrivals as a result of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. The coast guard said 120 were rescued in three separate incidents off Greek islands in the past 24 hours.

The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.

Seven of them were killed and dozens are believed to be missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend – one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 were rescued.

The search south of Crete around the tiny island of Gavdos was called off Wednesday.

The number of irregular migrants travelling to Greece is expected to top 60,000 this year, with Syrians making up the largest number, followed by Afghans, Egyptians, Eritreans and Palestinians, according to government data.