The dramatic efforts of the Hellenic Coast Guard to rescue migrants from drowning at sea off the coast of Chios, after their boat started sinking were captured on videos released by the Hellenic Coast Guard.
Despite their efforts, four people drowned in the sea area of Nenita, three of which were girls and the other a 40-year-old woman, according to an announcement by the Coast Guard.
One person is still missing and searches by boat and air are ongoing, while 22 have been rescued (14 men, 7 women, and one child).
According to reports, the boat sank while the migrants were trying to cross the Chios-Cesme Strait and disembark on the shores of the island. As sources from the Coast Guard said … “the boat in question had started from the Turkish coast loaded with a large number of passengers. This fact in combination with the adverse weather conditions led to the detachment of the hull (boat floor) of the non-navigable boat and its consequent sinking. None of the passengers had life jackets.”
As Minister of Migration and Asylum Notis Mitarakis tweeted “Tragically in spite of the best efforts of the Hellenic coastguard, 4 children – all between the ages of 3 and 14 – are confirmed dead, 1 person is missing, 22 were rescued and are being cared for ashore.”
In another tweet, Mitarakis accused Turkey of failing to do enough to prevent the gangs from exploiting migrants:
The Turkish authorities must do more to prevent exploitation by criminal gangs at source. These journeys should never be allowed to happen. pic.twitter.com/G95PrgsWaD
— Νότης Μηταράκης – Notis Mitarachi (@nmitarakis) October 26, 2021
According to the passengers, who first contacted 112, the boat was carrying a total of 27 people.
The operation involved 2 ships of the Coast Guard, a Super Puma helicopter, an army helicopter, a NATO mission ship, as well as surrounding vessels in the area.
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