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On Tiny Greek Island, 14 Migrants and Man’s Body Found after Dinghy Sinks

A group of Syrian refugees, who say they were walking in the woods for three days and decided to leave it because of a wildfire burning in the area, are detained by Greek authorities near the town of Soufli in the region of Evros, Greece, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
A group of Syrian refugees, who say they were walking in the woods for three days and decided to leave it because of a wildfire burning in the area, are detained by Greek authorities near the town of Soufli in the region of Evros, Greece, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
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On Tiny Greek Island, 14 Migrants and Man’s Body Found after Dinghy Sinks

A group of Syrian refugees, who say they were walking in the woods for three days and decided to leave it because of a wildfire burning in the area, are detained by Greek authorities near the town of Soufli in the region of Evros, Greece, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis
A group of Syrian refugees, who say they were walking in the woods for three days and decided to leave it because of a wildfire burning in the area, are detained by Greek authorities near the town of Soufli in the region of Evros, Greece, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis

Greece's coast guard found a group of 14 migrants and the body of a man on the shore of a tiny island in the eastern Aegean Sea on Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The five men, six women and three children were found on the remote island of Farmakonisi, along with the body of one man. It was not immediately clear how he died, The Associated Press reported.

The group had apparently arrived on the island from the Turkish coast in a dinghy that sank, the coast guard said. There were no reports of anyone missing. The migrants and the deceased man were taken to the nearby island of Leros, the coast guard added.

There has been a rise in sea crossings to European Union member Greece by people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Africa and Asia and seeking a better life in the wealthy 27-country bloc.

Despite the increase in migration to Greece, Italy is still the main entry point for the EU for migrants, with about 114,200 arrivals so far this year. Spain follows with more than 21,000 arrivals, according to United Nations figures, while the figure for Greece is nearly 18,600.

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Former Greek Prime Minister Simitis Dies Aged 88

FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis smiles to journalists during a news conference in Athens December 3, 2003. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis YK/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis smiles to journalists during a news conference in Athens December 3, 2003. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis YK/File Photo
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Former Greek Prime Minister Simitis Dies Aged 88

FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis smiles to journalists during a news conference in Athens December 3, 2003. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis YK/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis smiles to journalists during a news conference in Athens December 3, 2003. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis YK/File Photo

Former Greek Prime Minister Costas Simitis, who ushered the country into the European Union's single currency in 2001, died on Sunday aged 88 at his summer house in the Peloponnese.
“With sadness and respect, I bid farewell to Costas Simitis, a worthy and noble political opponent, but also the Prime Minister who accompanied Greece in its great national steps,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said in a statement.
The government proclaimed four days of mourning and said his funeral will be at the state's expense, Greek state news agency reported.
Simitis, a law professor and a reformist, assumed leadership of the PASOK socialist party in 1996 and was prime minister until 2004, Reuters said.
Simitis had been vacationing at his summer residence close to Athens in the Peloponnese in recent days. He was transferred unconscious to the hospital early in the morning where his death was confirmed, the director of the Corinth hospital told local media.
During his government, Simitis reduced the budget deficit and public debt to make Athens qualify for euro zone membership.
In 2012, three years after the Greek debt crisis erupted, he published a book criticizing the handling of the crisis by Greek politicians and the EU.
In that book, called "Derailment", he also accused the European Commission of turning a blind eye to overspending by his conservative successor.