Greece blames Turkey for arrivals after migrant boats sink

Athens, Oct 07: Greek ministers on Thursday blamed Turkey for migrant arrivals after two boat crashes killed at least 18 people.

The deaths occurred in two unrelated accidents on Wednesday, Greek officials said.

What did Greek officials say?

Maritime Affairs Minister Ionnais Plakiotakis accused Ankara of demonstrating "tolerance for unscrupulous people-smuggler gangs," adding that this has "cost lives."

Migration Minister Notis Mitarakis called for "immediate action to prevent all irregular departures due to harsh weather conditions."

"Already today many lives lost in the Aegean, people are drowning in unseaworthy vessels," he said. "The EU must act."

Rivals Greece and Turkey have on multiple occasions traded barbs over migrant arrivals to the EU.

Ankara denied the Greek allegations and has accused Athens of engaging in pushbacks of migrants.

The Aegean Sea that divides mainland Greece from Turkey is a popular route for asylum-seekers and refugees who aim to reach EU territory. In 2016, the EU reached a €6 billion deal with Turkey to stop irregular arrivals to Greek islands.

Early in September, an investigation by DW in cooperation with independent researchers suggested that Athens may be failing to use an EU-funded surveillance system for rescue missions.

What do we know about the boat accidents?

One boat, carrying 40 people, sank off of the eastern island of Lesbos in the face of strong winds. Nearly all of the people on the boat were women.

According to the Greek coastguard, 18 of them had been found dead by Thursday morning.

Another boat carrying 95 people crashed into a rocky cliff late on Wednesday off the southern island of Kythira.

80 people were rescued from the crash, rescue crews reported. There were varying reports on casualties.

Rescue operations were ongoing in both incidents as of Thursday.

Source: DW