Scores rescued from migrant dinghy off Greek island
Scores rescued from migrant dinghy off Greek island
More than 50 people were picked up early Wednesday off the eastern island of Kos by two patrol boats in rough weather in the Aegean Sea.
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Some 3,120 people have died since January while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea [Getty]
Greece's coast guard says it has rescued 59 people in an inflatable dinghy in rough weather in the Aegean Sea. They were picked up early Wednesday off the eastern island of Kos by two patrol boats.
With many islands close to the Turkish coast, Greece has been the main entry point into the European Union for hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees hoping for better lives in Europe, especially in the continent's more prosperous central and northern nations.
An EU-Turkish agreement and Balkan border closures have severely reduced the flow of people through the country this year. Under the deal, new arrivals on Greek islands face being returned to Turkey. The measure has left more than 57,000 people stranded in Greece.
The International Organsation for Migration said earlier this month that global migrant deaths had topped 4,000 in the first seven months of this year, a 26-percent increase in the fatality rate compared with the same period of 2015.
The total of 4,027 migrant deaths this year includes those who perished crossing the Mediterranean as well as others who died on the North African route and at the Turkey-Syria border, according to the Geneva-based IOM.
Some 3,120 people have died since January 1 while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
The most deadly route has been the crossing towards Italy, which has cost 2,692 lives, followed by the routes to Greece (383) and Spain (45).
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