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Tragedy Strikes Off Kos as Four Drown After Speedboat Accident
Four individuals, including two young children, have lost their lives after they fell from an overcrowded speedboat near the Greek island of Kos, according to reports from the Greek coastguard. The incident occurred while the group of 31 people was attempting to reach Italy from Turkey.
Officials confirmed the deaths after an extensive search of the waters that lasted through the night. The victims included two toddlers aged between two and four, and two women. Their tragic loss is a stark reflection of the perilous journeys many endure in search of safety and a better future.
The coastguard detailed that the driver of the speedboat executed “abrupt and dangerous maneuvers” in response to a patrol boat’s signal to stop. This reckless behavior resulted in ten passengers falling overboard into the sea.
Among the 27 survivors, several, including five children and an infant, were transported to the island’s general hospital. Dr. Violetta Molenda, a pediatrician attending to the survivors, described the harrowing situation, detailing the emotional toll of the event. “Things are very unpleasant. We have to be here to help,” she said. “Today there were two dead babies from the shipwreck … We rescued [another] baby … His body was black. We wrapped the baby up and I fed him with milk, and then I put him down. He drank and smiled.”
This incident constitutes yet another tragedy in the Mediterranean region, prompting urgent discussions among European Union leaders who are set to convene for a migration summit. They will consider new strategies aimed at curtailing the flow of migrants attempting to reach European shores.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, has emphasized the necessity for leaders to examine the establishment of “return hubs” outside of the EU, suggesting that Italy’s bilateral agreement with Albania could serve as a model for potential future agreements.
In line with this initiative, Italy has already begun transferring individuals under this pact. On Wednesday, 16 men, including ten from Bangladesh and six from Egypt, were the first to arrive in Albania’s port city of Shëngjin as part of this agreement.
There has been a notable surge in the number of asylum seekers arriving on Greece’s southern coast, with officials in Crete reporting a staggering 400% increase in arrivals since the start of 2023. Estimates indicate that around 3,380 irregular migrants have reached Crete and the neighboring island of Gavdos in just 76 incidents, a dramatic rise compared to 780 for all of the previous year.
The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, particularly the instability in Lebanon, is anticipated to contribute to a further increase in the number of individuals attempting to reach Europe, which raises concerns over the potential for additional tragedies in the Mediterranean.
Athens’ Deputy Migration Minister, Sofia Voultepsi, has voiced her concerns regarding the current state of the EU’s migration strategies, describing them as fundamentally flawed and ineffective. During a recent conference in Athens, she stressed the necessidade for a cohesive approach to asylum processes and return systems across the EU. “We got the [agreement] but the basic piece is still missing: returns,” she stated. “We must have a common system for asylum, a common system for returns, and a common system for integration.”
Advocates for migrant rights argue that the fatalities are a direct result of the lack of viable legal migration pathways, which leaves desperate individuals with limited options as they flee from conflict and persecution. Lefteris Papagiannakis, head of the Greek Council of Refugees, lamented the loss of life, stating, “Yet again, the most vulnerable have died in our seas … And that’s because they are the victims of the continuing policies that ignore the possibility of legal pathways of migration. Conflicts are increasing; the numbers [trying to flee] will only increase.”
Source
www.theguardian.com