ATHENS, GREECE (AP) – One more person from a migrant boat shipwreck has been found alive, Greece’s coast guard said yesterday, bringing the total number of survivors to 11 from the sailboat that capsized and sank in rough seas east of Athens with reportedly about 68 people on board.
A search and rescue operation continued for a second day in the treacherous Kafireas Strait, between the islands of Evia and Andros east of the Greek capital.
The coast guard said the 11th survivor was found early yesterday on land on the southern tip of Evia. The survivors, all men, include six Egyptians, three Afghans and two Iranians, and all have been taken to the town of Karystos on Evia.
The first nine were rescued on Tuesday from an uninhabited islet south of Evia in the early hours of Tuesday, and had told authorities they had been on a sailing boat that had departed from Izmir in Turkiye with 68 people on board. The 10th man was plucked from the sea hours later by a cargo ship participating in the rescue operation.
A separate search and rescue operation continued for a third day in the eastern Aegean off the island of Samos, which lies near the Turkish coast, for seven people still missing after a dinghy reportedly carrying 12 people capsized on Monday. Four people, who the coast guard said were all Palestinians, were rescued on Monday and one body was recovered on Tuesday.
