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2010-02-11 14:27:12 - Vehicle Accident - Greece EDIS CODE: VI-20100211-24899-GRC
Date & Time: 2010-02-11 14:27:12 [UTC]
Area: Greece, , Near the Island of Samos, Number of death person(s): 8
Missing person(s): 6
Damage level: Moderate (Level 2)
Not confirmed information! Description: A boat carrying illegal migrants capsized in a gale in the Aegean Sea off the eastern island of Samos and at least eight of them drowned, Greek authorities said Thursday. Rescuers were searching for another six migrants reported to have set off in a small vessel Wednesday from the nearby Turkish shore, according to a coast guard statement. The bodies of six men, a woman and a girl were located near Potokaki, on the southeastern coast of Samos, but high winds confined the search and rescue operation to land. The nationality of the victims was not immediately known. A coast guard spokeswoman said rescue ships and helicopters would join in the effort once the winds dropped, while Turkish authorities also offered help. Samos lies less than two miles (three kilometres) from Turkey's western coast. The search was launched late Wednesday when a cargo ship in Turkish waters picked up a man claiming to be Palestinian, who said his boat had gone down with another 14 people on board. Thousands of illegal migrants try to enter Greece every year, mostly sailing from Turkey in small, rickety boats after paying large sums to migrant smuggling gangs. Many come from war-torn countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Fatal accidents are common. In January, Greek authorities recovered a 21 bodies on northern shores over the space of a week, all believed to have come from the same shipwreck. And on the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos, 10 people from Afghanistan drowned in October when their boat hit rocks a few meters offshore.
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