A woman and a young boy have been found dead off the Greek island of Ikaria in the northern Aegean Sea following the sinking of a boat carrying over 50 migrants, according to port authorities on Sunday.
Authorities have rescued 50 migrants from the waters and are providing care, but three others remain missing, according to a spokesperson for the coastguard.
A rescue operation involving a coastguard vessel is underway, with a team of divers and additional rescuers expected to arrive later in the day.
Rescue efforts are being hampered by strong winds reaching force 6 on the Beaufort scale, the state broadcaster Ert reported.
Ikaria lies near Turkey’s western coast, a common departure point for migrants seeking asylum in the European Union.
Migrant crossings between Turkey and nearby Greek islands, as well as between Libya and the southern Greek island of Crete, are often dangerous.
Earlier this month, 17 people were found dead and 15 more declared missing after their boat sank off Crete. Only two people survived.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) recorded 107 migrant deaths or disappearances in Greek waters in 2023.
According to Missing Migrants, a project run by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), an estimated 33,000 migrants have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean since 2014.
