3 Drown, Dozens Feared Missing in Migrant Shipwreck Off Greece

A fishing boat approaches a half-sunken inflatable boat that was carrying migrants off the island of Leros, Greece, February 5, 2023. Hellenic Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS
A fishing boat approaches a half-sunken inflatable boat that was carrying migrants off the island of Leros, Greece, February 5, 2023. Hellenic Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS
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3 Drown, Dozens Feared Missing in Migrant Shipwreck Off Greece

A fishing boat approaches a half-sunken inflatable boat that was carrying migrants off the island of Leros, Greece, February 5, 2023. Hellenic Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS
A fishing boat approaches a half-sunken inflatable boat that was carrying migrants off the island of Leros, Greece, February 5, 2023. Hellenic Coast Guard/Handout via REUTERS

Three people drowned and two dozen are believed to be missing in the second migrant shipwreck off Greece this week, authorities said on Tuesday.

The coast guard said 16 people were rescued in a operation that began in the early hours of Tuesday after an inflatable rubber boat was spotted on rocks along the coast of the island of Lesbos, near Türkiye, Reuters reported.

Survivors told authorities about 41 people were on board the dinghy that had sailed from the Turkish coast. Two coast guard vessels and a Super Puma helicopter were assisting in the search operation amid strong winds, the coast guard said.

Greece has long been one of the main entry points into the European Union for refugees and migrants from the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Most cross on inflatable boats from Türkiye, a short but perilous journey during which thousands have died.

Four migrants, including three children, died after their boat sank off the island of Leros in the southeastern Aegean Sea on Sunday.



Four Killed in Helicopter Crash at Turkish Hospital

A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
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Four Killed in Helicopter Crash at Turkish Hospital

A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo
A US AH-64 Apache helicopter. Reuters file photo

Four people were killed in southwest Türkiye on Sunday when an ambulance helicopter collided with a hospital building and crashed into the ground.
The helicopter was taking off from the Mugla Training and Research Hospital, carrying two pilots, a doctor and another medical worker, the health ministry said in a statement.
Mugla's regional governor, Idris Akbiyik, told reporters the helicopter first hit the fourth floor of the hospital building before crashing into the ground. No one inside the building or on the ground was hurt. The cause of the accident, which took place during heavy fog, was being investigated.
Footage from the site showed debris from the crash scattered around the area outside the hospital building, with several ambulances and emergency teams at the scene.