The death toll from the sinking of two migrant boats off Kythira island rose to at least 21, with many still missing
At Least 21 Dead and Dozens Missing, After 2 Migrant Ships Sink off Greek Island
The boats went down hundreds of miles apart, in one case prompting a dramatic overnight rescue effort, as residents and firefighters pulled shipwrecked migrants to safety up steep cliffs. “The women who were rescued were in a full state of panic so we are still trying to work out what happened,” coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told state television. “The women were all from African countries, aged 20 upward. … There is a search on land as well as at sea and we hope that survivors made it to land.”
With winds in the area reaching 70 kph overnight on Kythira, survivors clinging to ropes were pulled to safety up steep cliffs as others were buffeted by waves as they waited their turn on tiny areas of rock at the bottom. Kythira is some 400 kilometers west of Turkey and on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head directly to Italy.A volatile dispute is taking place between Greece and Turkey over the safety of migrants at sea, with Athens accusing its neighbor of failing to stop smugglers active on its shoreline and even using migrants to apply political pressure on the European Union.
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