So far this year 650,000 migrants and refugees have used the Mediterranean route between Turkey and Greece, and of those 512 people have died, according to the global Organisation for Migration.
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A few 27 migrants were rescued by the Turkish coast guard after their boat sank during the 8-kilometer (5-mile) crossing between the Turkish coast and Greek island of Lesbos, Turkish media reported Wednesday. However, there was no immediate information on their nationalities.
“The boat probably sank after hitting rocks”.
European leaders are set to pledge as much as 3.6 billion euros ($3.8 billion) to African countries in a bid to help discourage others from making the journey.
More are coming as the weather is good and migrants and refugees are still heading for the Greek islands, added IOM spokesperson in Geneva Joel Millman.
More than 1,100 refugees were rescued off the coast of Lesbos, Kos and surrounding islands this weekend during 28 separate incidents of search and rescue.
There has been a sharp spike in the numbers of migrants and refugees fleeing war and misery in the Middle East, Asia and Africa setting out from Turkey for the European Union.
Trucks carrying wire fencing arrived in the Slovenian village of Veliki Obrez close to the border with Croatia early on Wednesday, a day after the government said it would start erecting barriers to control the flow of migrants. Of those, 512 people died.
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He was referring to three-year-old Syrian refugee Aylan Kurdi, whose body was pictured washed up on a Turkish beach in September in images that shocked the world, pressuring European leaders to step up their response to the crisis.
