Athens (EFE). – At least 17 migrants have died this Wednesday after a fishing boat with “an indefinite number” of people on board sank south of the Peloponnese Peninsula, in the Ionian Sea.
As reported to EFE by a spokeswoman for the Greek Coast Guard, so far 104 migrants have been rescued alive, four of whom have been transferred with hypothermia by helicopter to the hospital in the city of Kalamata.
Some media indicate that at least 400 people were traveling in the sunken ship.
For her part, the Greek spokeswoman has assured that “it is possible that there are still several missing persons”, since a large number of migrants were traveling on the fishing boat.
wave of bailouts
Ten vessels, a Navy frigate, a helicopter and a drone from FRONTEX, the European Union’s border agency, are taking part in search and rescue operations.
The boat departed from eastern Libya and had Italy as its final destination, authorities said.
The fishing vessel was located yesterday sailing in international waters south of the Peloponnese, according to the Coast Guard.
Meanwhile, to the south of the island of Crete, the coast guard managed to rescue another 80 migrants this morning who were on a drifting sailboat.
Last Sunday, the Greek authorities rescued 90 migrants in the southern Peloponnese who were aboard a yacht that was adrift.
Human smuggling networks have been using large vessels such as sailboats and fishing boats for years to make their way from Turkey or Libya to the southern Italian mainland, since migrants and refugees have easier access to Central European countries.