The sinking of the sail boat off the coast of Samos in the early hours of Monday may be the worst case since 2007, with Coast Guard officers reporting grim details.
During the search for survivors, divers were shocked when they came across the body of a mother still clutching her lifeless one-year-old girl in the capsized sail boat. Most of the unfortunate victims appear to be of a young age.
While the investigation regarding the tragedy are still under way, it appears that the sail boat – which has a capacity of 12 to 15 passengers – was hired to transfer about 65 migrants. It has not been determined what caused the vessel to capsize, but it appears likely that some of the passengers panicked and suddenly rushed to one side.
So far the nationality of 30 of the 36 survivors has been confirmed. Amongst the survivors there are 23 men from Somalia, two men and one woman from Eritrea and two men and two women from Syria.
Additional vessel with refugees discovered off Samos
Less than 24 hours since the tragic sinking of the sail bout, the Coast Guard reported that it located and rescued a further 24 refugees – 22 men and 2 women – from off the coast of Samos, in Turkish national waters.
The Greek officers are currently awaiting a Turkish cost guard vessel to receive them.
