A big Search And Rescue operation is under way in the sea area south of the island of Folegandros in the Cyclades after the sinking of a plastic boat carrying migrants to Greece from Turkey. Twelve people have been rescued, so far, some 32 are estimated to be missing.
According to the testimonies of the rescued, the plastic boat with at least 32 people on board, had a mechanical failure, water came in and sank in the early morning hours of Wednesday. Those missing were Iranian nationals.
The crew of a Coast Guard boat located the 12 rescued on a small auxiliary boat. Only two of them were wearing life jackets, the boat did not have any rescue equipment.
The rescued migrants were taken to hospital on the island of Santorini for precautionary reasons. Among them are seven men, four teenagers and one woman, the Coast Guard told state-run news agency amna.
The boat had left the western coast of Turkey and was heading to Italy.
The SAR continues with the participation of a four coat guard boats, two helicopters form the Navy and the Air Force, a C-130 aircraft, five helicopter, commercial ships that were in the area and several private boats and vessels.
In the SAR area there are currently north winds blowing with intensity of 4 Beaufort.
According to Press Officer of the Greek Coast Guard, the body of one person has been recovered around 10:00 in the morning.
Sad news about the wreck of bouts with migrants near the Greek islands appears more and more recently. It’s obvious that such incidents occur due to the negligence of these people themselves. This is the fact of inhuman negligence. Especially I’m sorry for children who die because of the stupidity of their parents. And our state has to organize SAR operations again and again in order to save these people, although the border units have enough work! But no matter what, they still continue to violate the law and our territorial boundaries.
Beyond that, a lot of questions arise for the Turkish side. Why do such cases are happening more and more often? Is Turkey unable to organize the border control of its territory? Or is it organized provocation?
I personally think that the truth is somewhere in between. It does not do without the malice of the Turkish side, which is entirely consistent with the style of their foreign policy towards Greece. However, it’s a pity that the cost of this whole game is calculated in human lives.