ATHENS: Eight people drowned during the pursuit of a speedboat carrying migrants that sank in the Aegean Sea, Greece’s coastguard said on Friday.

The coastguard said the boat capsized as it attempted to flee, adding that another 26 people had been rescued.

Public broadcaster ERT said that 17 of those were taken to hospital.

A coastguard statement said that the boat driver had “lost control” while attempting to evade a Greek patrol vessel.

The incident struck near the island of Rhodes, opposite the Turkish coast on a route frequently used by migrant-smugglers.

Coastguard vessels and a helicopter were looking for more survivors.

Greece has seen a 25 per cent increase this year in the number of migrants arriving, with a 30 per cent increase to Rhodes and the southeast Aegean, according to the migration ministry.

Several similar accidents have struck in recent weeks.

Forty people, including 35 Pakistanis, are presumed to have drowned last weekend when their boat capsized off the island of Crete.

Nine migrants, including six children and two women, died late last month after two boats sank in separate incidents near the islands of Samos and Lesbos.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2024