12 migrants drown off Greece, including 6 during coast guard pursuit

At least 12 migrants drowned Monday in two separate incidents off the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos after their boats capsized during coast guard pursuits, authorities said.

Six people died off Lesbos Monday after the collision, including a baby and four women, a coast guard official said.

A small boat carrying the other six victims – five men and a woman – capsized off Samos, the coast guard added. Rescuers saved 14 people from that boat, including an alleged Iranian organizer.

The Lesbos incident involved a speedboat carrying migrants colliding with the port side of a police patrol vessel, the official said. Eight people were rescued in that incident.

Authorities did not provide the nationalities of the victims or those rescued.

The Aegean Sea is a frequently used route for migrants traveling from Türkiye to Europe and has claimed many lives.

At least 15 migrants died in February off the Greek island of Chios after their boat collided with a coast guard patrol vessel.

One person died and 25 remain missing after a migrant boat sank off the island of Gavdos, near Crete, in September.

“Smugglers are putting migrants in grave danger,” Migration Minister Thanos Plevris told Ertnews public broadcaster. Plevris, an advocate for strict migration policies, also praised the coast guard, saying, “They are doing everything they can to save lives while at the same time protecting our borders.”

Greece is one of five European countries – with Austria, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands – working to set up detention centers in Africa for migrants whose asylum claims have been rejected.

The initiative, however, lacks unanimous EU support, with notable opposition from France.

According to the EU Agency for Asylum, the 27 member states received 332,000 applications for international protection in the first half of this year, a 17% decrease from the same period last year as countries tighten migration policies.