One dead, dozens missing as refugee boat sinks off Greek coast

Just two of the dozens of people on board were wearing life jackets, the coastguard says.

At least one person has died and dozens are feared missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants sank off the coast of Folegandros, a Greek island.

The body of the unidentified man was recovered during an ongoing search and rescue operation launched early on Wednesday after the boat sank some 180km (112 miles) southeast of Athens.

The Greek coastguard said 12 people, including children, all believed to be from Iraq, had been rescued and transported to the nearby island of Santorini.

Most survivors said there were originally 32 people on the boat, but one told authorities there were about 50.

The coastguard said four of its vessels, two helicopters from the navy and air force, a military transport plane, five passing ships and three private vessels were participating in the search and rescue operation.

“The survivors made it onto a dinghy that was tethered to the boat. Only two of them were wearing life jackets,” coastguard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told state-run ERT television.

“We always presume the worst-case scenario, in this case, that 50 people were on the boat.”

The coastguard said the operation began on Tuesday night after it received information that a vessel carrying migrants had suffered engine failure and later began taking on water south of Folegandros.

Greece is one of the most popular routes into the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Most people attempt to cross in dinghies from the Turkish shore to the nearby eastern Aegean Greek islands.

But with increased patrols and allegations of summary deportations back to Turkey for those who arrive, many have been attempting lengthier routes on larger vessels.

Folegandros, one of the southern islands in the Cyclades, is not along a usual route for smugglers.

Other vessels have bypassed the Greek islands and headed directly from the Turkish coast to Italy.

About 8,500 asylum seekers have arrived in Greece this year, most of them through its northeastern land border with Turkey, according to data by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations’ refugee agency.

About 1,900 people died or went missing in the Mediterranean this year as they made the perilous journey by sea, compared with about 1,500 people last year, IOM data shows.