Two people have died in a shipwreck in the early hours of Monday in the sea off the northern coast of Samos, aboard a migrant boat en route to Greece.
Greek public broadcaster ERT reported that a woman and a man drowned as the ship sank, and that the 22 other passengers were rescued by the Greek Coast Guard. The 22 survivors were taken to the Closed Controlled Reception Facility in Samos.
Last month there was another shipwreck off the coast of Samos in which four people died, and 30 survived. The Coast guard reported that they arrested a 21-year-old on charges of smuggling.
Earlier this month another four people drowned off the coast of Kos, and another two people died in the seas near the southern island of Gavdos.
According to the IOM (International Organization for Migration), at least 1618 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean Sea thus far this year.
The Eastern Mediterranean, in the waters between Turkey and Greece, is a common route for people fleeing war, poverty, or persecution in parts of the Middle East or Africa, attempting to reach Europe.
According to recent Frontex data, the border agency has detected 45,600 border crossings along the Eastern Mediterranean route so far this year, in a slight increase from last year.
In a summit last week, the European Council focused specifically on migration and how to deter and return migrants from the bloc, concluding the need to “speed up returns” and find “new ways to prevent and counter irregular migration.”
