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Greece: New migrant shipwreck in the Aegean Sea leaves two dead
Two women were found dead on the rocky coast of the Greek island of Chios, after a makeshift boat carrying 29 migrants ran aground on Friday, according to the Greek coast guard.
“During a rescue operation following the grounding of a migrant boat, two women were found lifeless and ten people — including three seriously injured — were transferred to Chios hospital,” a coast guard spokesperson told AFP.
In total, 27 people were rescued, though authorities have not specified their nationalities. Located near the western coast of Turkey, Chios — like other Aegean islands such as Lesbos — is one of the main entry points for migrants seeking asylum in the European Union. These dangerous crossings are often deadly: the Chios incident marks the second shipwreck in ten days in the Aegean Sea.
Earlier this month, on October 7, four bodies were recovered off Lesbos after another migrant boat carrying 38 people sank. Meanwhile, another rescue operation took place off the southern island of Crete on Friday morning, where 23 migrants were brought safely to shore.
Greece has seen a sharp rise in migrant arrivals over the summer, particularly on Crete from Libya. The conservative government has toughened its migration policy, suspending asylum requests for people arriving from North African countries for three months — a decision widely criticized by the UNHCR and the Council of Europe.