Residents of a Greek island pulled shipwrecked migrants to safety up steep cliffs in dramatic rescues after two boats sank in Greek waters, leaving at least 21 people dead and dozens still missing.
The coast guard on the eastern island of Lesbos said 16 bodies of young African women and one young man were recovered there after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Ten women were rescued, while 13 other migrants were believed to be missing, coast guard officials said.
Several hundred kilometres to the west, near the island of Kythira, a sailboat carrying about 100 migrants also sank late Wednesday (local time).
Officials said 30 people had been rescued after that boat hit rocks off the village port of Diakofti on the east of the island. Winds in the area were up to 70km/h.
Dramatic video from the island showed rescuers and locals pulling survivors to safety up steep cliffs by rope as others were buffeted by waves while waiting their turn on tiny areas of rock at the bottom.
“We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight,” Martha Stathaki, a resident said.
“All the residents here went down to the harbour to try and help.”
Local officials said a school in the area would be opened to provide shelter for the rescued. Navy divers were also expected to arrive Thursday.
Most migrants reaching Greece travel from neighbouring Turkey, but smugglers have changed routes in recent months to avoid heavily patrolled waters around Greek islands near the Turkish coastline.
Kythira is some 400 kilometres west of Turkey and on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head directly to Italy.
The deaths occurred amid a heated spat between Greece and Turkey over the safety of migrants at sea with Athens accusing its neighbour of failing to stop smugglers active on its shoreline and even using migrants to apply political pressure on the European Union.
“Once again, Turkey’s tolerance of gangs of ruthless traffickers has cost human lives,” Greek Shipping Minister Yannis Plakiotakis said.
“As long as the Turkish coast guard does not prevent their activities, the traffickers cram unfortunate people, without safety measures, into boats that cannot withstand the weather conditions, putting their lives in mortal danger.”
Turkey denies the allegations and has publicly accused Greece of carrying out reckless summary deportations, known as pushbacks.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Greece of “turning the Aegean Sea into a graveyard” and held up photographs of dead migrant children.
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