At least eight migrants drown off Greece: Coastguard

At least eight people drowned when a boat carrying migrants from Turkey sank off the Greek island of Kos, the coastguard said today.

They were the latest of nearly 3,500 deaths at sea this year among people making desperate bids to flee war and poverty and to reach Europe, according to UN figures.

The coastguard recovered six bodies from the water, while divers found the remains of two others trapped in the sunken boat.

Seven survivors from the same vessel said up to five other migrants were still missing. Rescue efforts were under way today morning, the coastguard said. The boat, which came from nearby Turkey and which capsized overnight, was spotted by the crew of a Finnish ship participating in operations by Frontex, the EU’s border security agency. A three-year-old child died on Saturday off Greece’s Chios island further north when the motor of the vessel he was travelling in exploded.