Three children missing after migrant boat sinks close to Greece border

Three children and one adult are missing after a boat carrying them across a river from Turkey to Greece went down on Saturday.

Search parties are looking for survivors after a dinghy carrying 12 people sank when they attempted to cross the River Evros from Turkey into Greece, local police said.

Eight of the survivors managed to swim to safety and alerted the authorities, AFP reported.

The River Evros has seen increased migrant traffic since after a crackdown on crossings by EU naval patrols in the Aegean in 2016.

Greece has been a key entry point for Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, Afghans and others hoping to reach the EU.

An EU deal with Turkey also saw Ankara tighten security to prevent migrants reaching Greece.

However, Migration Minister Dimitris Vitsas in October said numbers had increased dramatically, from more than 3,000 in 2016 to 5,500 in 2017 and some 12,000 up to that point last year.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will visit Turkey next week, where the migrant crisis will be discussed.