Coast guard officers cover the bodies after a speedboat carrying migrants has capsized, in the southeastern Aegean Sea island of Rhodes, Greece, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (Argyris Mantikos/Eurokinissi via AP)
December 21, 2024 - 12:52 PM
ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greece's coast guard said Saturday it was searching for survivors or victims of a speedboat capsizing a day earlier involving migrants off the eastern Greek island of Rhodes.
The capsizing, the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel according to authorities, left eight confirmed dead.
A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, the coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.
Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.
Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.
The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.
Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.
A search south of Crete around the tiny island of Gavdos was called off Wednesday.
The number of migrants traveling illegally to Greece is expected to top 60,000 this year, with Syrians making up the largest number, followed by Afghans, Egyptians, Eritreans and Palestinians, according to government data.
News from © The Associated Press, 2024