A woman and a child have been found dead off the Greek island of Ikaria in the northern Aegean Sea after a boat carrying more than 50 migrants sank. This was made known by the Greek port police.
According to a coast guard spokeswoman, “50 migrants were rescued and are currently being assisted by the authorities, but three others are still missing.” The search operations continue with the support of a coast guard ship, while the arrival of a team of rescuers and divers is expected during the day.
Rescue hampered by bad weather
Rescue activities are made particularly complex by adverse weather conditions. According to the public broadcaster Ert, winds of force 6 on the Beaufort scale are blowing in the area, which are slowing down the intervention of naval vessels.
Ikaria is located near the western coast of Türkiye, one of the main departure points for migrants heading to the European Union. The crossings do not only concern the nearest Greek islands, but also longer and riskier routes, such as the one between Libya and Crete.
A budget that continues to grow
At the beginning of December, 17 people were found dead after a boat capsized off the coast of Crete, while 15 others were reported missing. On that occasion only two migrants managed to survive.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recorded a total of 107 people dead or missing in Greek waters in 2025. According to data from the Missing Migrants project of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), since 2014 approximately 33 thousand migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean.