A Migrant Drowns, Fears of Others Missing After Boat Capsizes Off Greece

The Greek Coast Guard announced on Saturday that authorities recovered the body of a migrant and rescued 39 others after their boat capsized near the southern Greek island of Gavdos in the Mediterranean Sea.

Witnesses reported that many others remain missing as the Coast Guard continues search operations involving ships and aircraft following the incident reported on Friday night, according to Reuters.

In two separate incidents on the same day, a Maltese-flagged cargo ship rescued 47 migrants from a boat 40 nautical miles off Gavdos, while a tanker saved 88 migrants approximately 28 nautical miles from the small southern Greek island.

According to Coast Guard officials, preliminary information suggests that both boats departed from Libya.

Greece remains a favored entry point for migrants seeking to enter the European Union, with most arriving from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Nearly one million refugees and migrants reached Greek islands during 2015 and 2016, mostly in inflatable boats.

In the past year, the number of migrant boat incidents off the isolated Greek islands of Crete and Gavdos in the central Mediterranean has increased significantly.

Similar incidents have occurred in recent weeks, the most recent being in early November when four people died near Rhodes Island. In late October, two people drowned near Samos, and a few days earlier, four others, including two children, perished near Kos Island.