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A coastguard officer told AFP on Wednesday that over 50 people are still missing after a boat carrying migrants capsized off the Greek island of Karpathos in the Aegean Sea.
According to the accounts of 29 persons who were saved, there were 80 people on the boat, meaning that up to 50 people may still be missing.
Following the shipwreck that occurred after the boat departed Turkey on Tuesday for Italy, the Greek coastguard is looking for the missing.
Four ships that were already cruising the southern Aegean, two coastguard patrol boats, and a Greek air force aircraft all participated in the rescue operation.
However, according to coastguard spokesperson Nikos Kokalas, severe gusts of up to 50 kilometres per hour (30 mph) were impeding the operation.
When seeking asylum in the European Union, refugees from Africa and the Middle East frequently choose Greece as their destination.
Many people go from Turkey to Greece over the treacherous and narrow maritime strait that divides the two ancient foes.
The International Organization for Migration reports that since January, 64 persons have passed away in the eastern Mediterranean.
According to the UN migration agency, eight people perished off the coast of the Greek island of Mykonos on June 19 as 108 others were rescued.
Athens claims that this year has seen an increase in the number of migrants arriving, and she blames Ankara for not doing enough to stop traffickers from bringing people across the border, sometimes in shoddy boats that make for perilous voyages.
As part of a 2016 agreement, Turkey promised to reduce the number of migrants leaving its borders in exchange for financial support from the European Union.
The EU asked Ankara to stop “violent and unlawful expulsions” from its territory at the end of June.
Charitable organisations and the media accuse Athens of forcibly sending refugees back; the conservative Greek government refutes this accusation.
