Greece: Dozens Still Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks

This photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants arrive at a port on the southeastern Aegean Sea island of Kos, Greece, after a rescue operation on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants arrive at a port on the southeastern Aegean Sea island of Kos, Greece, after a rescue operation on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP)
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Greece: Dozens Still Missing After Migrant Boat Sinks

This photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants arrive at a port on the southeastern Aegean Sea island of Kos, Greece, after a rescue operation on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Hellenic Coast Guard shows migrants arrive at a port on the southeastern Aegean Sea island of Kos, Greece, after a rescue operation on Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 (Hellenic Coast Guard via AP)

Greek authorities said a search and rescue operation is ongoing for a second day for dozens of migrants missing after the boat they were on sank in rough seas off a southeastern Greek island.

A Greek navy vessel and three nearby merchant ships were still searching Thursday for between around 30 to 50 people believed missing after the boat that had been carrying them from the Turkish coast of Antalya to Italy capsized in the early hours of Wednesday.

No further survivors had been located since 29 men from Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq were rescued shortly after the boat sank about 33 nautical miles (38 miles; 61 kilometers) southeast of the island of Karpathos, the Greek coast guard said. The survivors had told authorities there had been a total of between 60 and 80 people on board the boat.

Greek authorities said the capsizing occurred in international waters, but within Greece’s search and rescue responsibility area, according to The Associate Press.

Two of the survivors were plucked from the sea by an air force helicopter and flown to Karpathos, while the remaining 27 were picked up by a merchant vessel and transported to the island of Kos, where they arrived Wednesday afternoon.

Video released by the coast guard showed the men being transferred from the merchant ship to a coast guard boat which then transported them to Kos. There, dressed in white coveralls and wearing masks, they disembarked, many of them limping but all walking unassisted, and headed to a waiting bus.

It wasn't immediately clear why the boat sank, but weather conditions in the area were rough, with strong winds and choppy seas, authorities said.

The most common sea route for asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa has been from Turkey to the nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

But with Greek authorities increasing patrols in the area and facing persistent reports of summarily deporting new arrivals to Turkey without allowing them to apply for asylum, many are now attempting the much longer, and more dangerous, route directly to Italy. Greek authorities deny they carry out illegal summary deportations of asylum-seekers.



Ukraine Says It Shot Down Russian Fighter Jet from Sea Drone for First Time

A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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Ukraine Says It Shot Down Russian Fighter Jet from Sea Drone for First Time

A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A serviceman of the 43rd Hetman Taras Triasylo Separate Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stands near an Archer self-propelled howitzer as it is fired towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at a position in Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

Ukraine destroyed a Russian Su-30 fighter jet using a missile fired from a seaborne drone, Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency announced on Saturday, in what it said was the world's first downing of a combat plane by a maritime drone.

Its statement on social media said the fighter had been shot down by a military intelligence unit called Group 13 on Friday over waters near Novorossiisk, a major Russian port city on the Black Sea.

Outmanned and outgunned by its larger, wealthier Russian adversary, Ukraine has turned to drone warfare in the air and at sea as a way to fight back throughout more than three years of full-scale war.

Ukraine's seaborne drones, which are much cheaper and smaller than conventional ships, have wrought havoc on Russia's Black Sea fleet.

Ukraine has previously said it shot down a Russian military helicopter in December 2024 using a missile fired from the same type of seaborne drone.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not comment on the Ukrainian claim, but an authoritative Russian blogger believed to be close to the ministry said the jet had been shot down.

"Yesterday towards evening, a Su-30 naval aviation fighter jet was shot down by the Ukrainian side 50 kilometers west of Novorossiisk. This was done from an uncrewed boat with an R-73 SAM (surface-to-air missile)," the blogger, who goes by the name Rybar, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"The pilots ejected and were picked up by civilian sailors. Both are alive, and to hell with the plane."

The mayor of Novorossiisk declared a state of emergency on Saturday after local authorities said a Ukrainian drone attack had damaged a grain terminal and several residential buildings, injuring five people.