A tragic incident in the Aegean Sea has claimed the lives of four people, with the bodies of three men and one woman recovered near the southern tip of Rhodes on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reports.
A group of 25 survivors were also found alive after swimming to shore.
The survivors reported to authorities that they were traveling to the Greek island from the nearby Turkish coast on a speedboat. According to their accounts, the smuggler driving the vessel forced them overboard into the water and abandoned them.
Greek Coast Guard authorities initiated a search and rescue operation following the initial discovery of 11 survivors shortly after midnight. The remaining survivors were located throughout the day. The nationalities of those involved remain unclear.
The search operation was called off on Wednesday afternoon after survivors confirmed that no one else was missing.
This incident follows a string of recent tragedies in the Aegean Sea. Just weeks ago, two people died near the Greek island of Samos, and a few days prior, four people, including two infants, were lost near the island of Kos.
Greece has become a primary entry point for migrants and asylum seekers from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia since 2015 when nearly 1 million people landed on its islands. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports 48,158 arrivals in 2024 alone, with the vast majority arriving by boat.
Rhodes, along with other Greek islands, has witnessed a surge in asylum seekers in recent months. In response to this influx, Greece’s Migration Minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, has called for stricter EU migration policies and is considering creating detention facilities on Rhodes and Crete. However, rights groups and NGOs have condemned this plan, arguing that such facilities would amount to prison camps and violate the rights of those seeking refuge.
