At least 27 refugees, including 11 children, drowned after a boat trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos capsized two miles off the Turkish coast on Monday, the Turkish coast guard has said.
Three of the boat’s passengers were rescued by the coast guard, while a fourth was rescued by a fisherman. A search operation was still under way for nine others.
The boat sank in the Aegean Sea near the Edremit area of the northwestern province of Balikesir, about two miles off the Turkish coast.
More than 850,000 refugees arrived in Greece via the perilous sea route last year, making up the majority of the more than 1.1 million refugees who reached the EU.
While many expected numbers to drop over the winter, refugees have continued to make their way across the sea despite low temperatures and heavy storms. Last month marked the deadliest January on record, with more than 250 deaths.
Turkey, a country that hosts about 2.5 million Syrian refugees, the largest such population in the world, says that it does not have the capacity to host any more.
The Turkish government struck a highly controversial deal with the EU in November, under which the EU pledged €3 billion and political concessions to Turkey in exchange for increased border patrols, a crackdown on human smuggling networks and irregular migration.
Local activists and NGOs have harshly criticised European migration policies and ever tighter border security.
“These accidents happen every day,” said Eda Bekçi, a lawyer who volunteers at the refugee aid group Mülteci-Der in Izmir. “Just a few days ago a boat capsized and nine people were killed. These people will keep leaving, and Europe needs to finally understand that shutting down their borders and increasing security measures will lead to more refugees dying on these borders.”
Turkey has put in place a range of measures in order to curb the number of Syrian refugees going to Europe, such as putting in place visa requirements for Syrians arriving from third countries.
Guardian service