Eight dead as another migrant boat capsizes near Greece

ATHENS: A boat carrying migrants capsized near the eastern Greek island of Rhodes on Friday, leaving eight people dead and 18 others rescued, Greek authorities confirmed.

The Greek coast guard reported that the speedboat had been performing “dangerous maneuvers” to evade a patrol vessel. Several passengers were thrown into the sea as a result.

A large-scale rescue operation involving coast guard vessels and a helicopter was launched. The search for additional passengers continues, though it remains unclear if more are missing.

Rhodes, close to Turkey’s coastline, is part of a busy smuggling route in the eastern Mediterranean.

This marks the second migrant tragedy in a week.

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Last weekend, over seven migrants died, and dozens remain missing after a boat partially sank south of Crete.

More than 200 migrants were rescued in four operations during that incident, but authorities called off further searches near the island of Gavdos on Wednesday.

Greek government data suggests illegal migrant arrivals in Greece may surpass 60,000 this year. Most migrants are fleeing conflict zones, with Syrians forming the largest group, followed by Afghans, Egyptians, Eritreans, and Palestinians.

The surge in migrant arrivals is attributed to intensifying conflicts in the Middle East. Athens has raised concerns about managing the increasing influx.

Shipwrecks near Crete and Gavdos, two remote islands in the central Mediterranean, have become increasingly common over the past year. Gavdos, in particular, has seen multiple cases of migrant boats capsizing.

This latest tragedy comes months after a devastating incident in June 2023, when hundreds of migrants drowned as an overcrowded boat sank off the coast of Pylos in southwestern Greece. That shipwreck remains one of the deadliest migrant disasters in the Mediterranean in recent years.