At least three migrants have died and around 20 others are presumed missing in the second sinking of a dinghy since the start of the week, the Greek coastguard announced on Tuesday.
The three who died, two women and a man, belong to an estimated 41 members in total whose dinghy sank after hitting a reef near the Greek island of Lesbos, a coastguard spokeswoman said. at AFP.
Sixteen people have been rescued so far and the search, hampered by high winds, is continuing by sea, air and land, she added.
On Sunday, four children and a woman died near Lesvos following the sinking of an inflatable boat carrying a group of migrants from the neighboring Turkish coasts. Forty-one people were rescued, including six children and two adults who were taken to Leros hospital.
The human tragedies in the Aegean Sea are on the rise, with migrants boarding makeshift boats on stormy, even stormy seas in winter. A two-month-old baby died in December in a shipwreck off Lesbos.
Since 2014, 2,246 people fleeing wars and poverty have drowned in the eastern Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).