Another shipwrecked migrant boat, which in the latest incident attempted to clandestinely approach Rhodes early Friday morning, resulted in eight deaths, including a child.
According to Greek authorities, in his attempt to evade and flee from an approaching Hellenic Coast Guard patrol boat the pilot of a vessel loaded with third country caused the latter to overturn off the Afantou Beach on the large Dodecanese Island.
Another 18 people survived and were rescued in the water, with search and rescue efforts commenced before dawn and continued by three coast guard craft and an air force helicopter throughout the day. Eight of the latter were injured, with three seriously, reports state.
The incident marks the latest and deadly instance of smugglers attempting to land third country nationals onto Greek territory. Traffickers operating from the western Turkish coast are considered as responsible for the latest shipwreck, although people trafficking networks based in strife-plagued Libya were responsible for a handful of migrant smuggling incidents off the south of Crete over the past month. More than 125 people were picked up and taken to Crete in the latter incidents just in the past week.
Third country nationals from disparate regions, ranging from central and West Africa to the Middle East and South Asia, often pay traffickers thousands of euros per person to be smuggled into the European Union, often via extremely hazardous means.
In a statement issued after the fatal incident, Christos Stylianides, the maritime affairs and insular policy minister said:
“Unfortunately, yet again a ruthless trafficking ring has sacrificed the lives of eight of our fellow human beings, including a young child, for its illegal profits. This is why I would like to express my deepest sorrow over the loss of so many lives, and under tragic circumstances. I said this a few days ago on the occasion of a similar tragedy in Samos, and I will say it again today: The aim of the ministry, the Greek coast guard and myself personally is to put an end to this vile network of trafficking. This objective is non-negotiable. Our decision is to tackle, once and for all, the major problem of illegal immigration, which exceeds the limits of the European Union’s endurance.”
