Athens, May 30, (dpa/GNA) – A fourth body has been found four days, after a boat carrying at least 17 migrants capsized off the island of Mykonos, the Greek coastguard reported on Tuesday.
At least 11 people remain missing, according to the coastguard. The fourth victim was a woman, whose body was found on a stretch of rocky coast on the island of Antiparos some 45 kilometres south-east of the site of the accident. She was identified by relatives.
The surviving migrants said they had set out from the Turkish coast on Thursday. The cause of the accident remains unclear, but strong winds are common around Mykonos.
Smugglers repeatedly try to bring people from Turkey across the eastern Mediterranean in small boats, in order to reach the European Union, often via Greece.
However, many of these attempts end in disaster, due to the weather and unseaworthy, overcrowded vessels. UN figures show at least 326 people died in the region last year, though the true figure is thought to be significantly higher.
GNA