On Sunday yet another ship carrying migrants sank off the coast of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, resulting in the death of eleven people, including two children and four babies, according to the Greek coast guard.
The ship sailing from Turkey and bound for Greece foundered in a rocky area off the coast before sinking. The provenance of the victims is still unknown, but a good number of those leaving Turkey for Europe are fleeing armed conflict in Syria.
Ten of the victims—four women and all of the children—were found dead in the cabin of the boat. Rescuers later discovered the body of the eleventh casualty, a young woman, on the coast of Samos.
Fifteen more passengers survived the shipwreck, pulled from the sea by volunteers and inhabitants of the island. According to reports from the survivors, one of the migrants is still missing.
In recent days dozens of migrants have died in the area, trying to reach Greece and then move in the countries of northern Europe. Two days ago, two other boats sank in the Aegean, leaving 27 dead, including 17 children.
According to the International Organization for Migration, 70 children have drowned in the Aegean Sea in the last two months, and over half a million refugees and migrants have reached the Greek coast so far this year.
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter @tdwilliamsrome
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