The Turkish Coast Guard spotted a boat in distress during its daily search and rescue flights over the Aegean Sea and rappelled down to save a lone migrant clinging to the upturned bow of his sinking boat yesterday.
The Coast Guard said 34 people had been aboard, 27 died and six were missing, trying to reach the Greek island of Lesbos.
The International Organisation for Migration said today it estimates over 76,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea through the first six weeks of 2016. The daily average of nearly 2,000 arrivals is nearly 10 times the daily average of a year ago.
France and Germany on Sunday agreed an EU action plan that involves assistance to Greece to control its borders, reinforcing its means to register refugees but also a fight against smugglers and the acceleration of procedures to expel illegal migrants. It also includes a package for Turkey to help it curb the influx of migrants into Europe.
