Representational Image - This February 17, 2012 file photo of the Greek Coast Guard shows a Greek air force Puma helicopter hovering during the rescue operation of the crew aboard the 60-meter French-flagged yacht "Le Yogi"
Athens, Greece:
At least 22 migrants including four children drowned in the Aegean Sea on Monday after a yacht and a dinghy carrying them towards Greek shores capsized, coastguard officials said.
Eighteen people were found dead on board the 10-metre (33-foot) yacht after it was towed to shore, the coastguard said, adding that another four bodies were recovered at sea.
Some 65 migrants were attempting to make the crossing from neighbouring Turkey when their vessels went down near the Greek island of Samos.
The authorities have so far picked up 36 survivors, including three women and a boy, who was flown to an Athens hospital suffering from hypothermia.
A search was underway for half a dozen migrants still believed to be missing, backed by two helicopters, Greek and EU coastguard patrol vessels and three fishing boats.
Four children - three boys and a girl - are among those who perished in addition to 12 women and six men, the coastguard said.
The authorities did not give details of their nationalities.
A coastguard spokeswoman said the capsized vessels were spotted early on Monday morning by a patrol boat from the EU border agency Frontex, which alerted the Greek coastguard.
Greece is one of the main ports of entry into the European Union for people fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
People traffickers are using Greece's Aegean islands as a preferred route into Europe following a tightening of migration controls along its land border with Turkey.
At least 19 migrants have drowned in the perilous Aegean Sea crossings since the beginning of the year.
Amnesty International recently reported in a study that 188 adults and children died or were missing in the area between August 2012 and March 2014.
Eighteen people were found dead on board the 10-metre (33-foot) yacht after it was towed to shore, the coastguard said, adding that another four bodies were recovered at sea.
Some 65 migrants were attempting to make the crossing from neighbouring Turkey when their vessels went down near the Greek island of Samos.
The authorities have so far picked up 36 survivors, including three women and a boy, who was flown to an Athens hospital suffering from hypothermia.
A search was underway for half a dozen migrants still believed to be missing, backed by two helicopters, Greek and EU coastguard patrol vessels and three fishing boats.
Four children - three boys and a girl - are among those who perished in addition to 12 women and six men, the coastguard said.
The authorities did not give details of their nationalities.
A coastguard spokeswoman said the capsized vessels were spotted early on Monday morning by a patrol boat from the EU border agency Frontex, which alerted the Greek coastguard.
Greece is one of the main ports of entry into the European Union for people fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
People traffickers are using Greece's Aegean islands as a preferred route into Europe following a tightening of migration controls along its land border with Turkey.
At least 19 migrants have drowned in the perilous Aegean Sea crossings since the beginning of the year.
Amnesty International recently reported in a study that 188 adults and children died or were missing in the area between August 2012 and March 2014.
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