Another four perished when their vessel sank off the coast of Izmir, a province further south, the coastguard said. “Humanity is watching from the sidelines”, AFP quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on hearing of the latest tragedy.
Advertisement
The crisis worsened over the summer when hundreds of thousands more people fleeing wars, persecution and poverty mainly in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan arrived in Greece and the Balkans via Turkey.
“That is to say, sending people back with a small piece of support to help them set up in business or whatever, rather than deporting them under armed guard”.
Television footage showed the listing white-painted motor boat in a local port, its stern mangled and several windows shattered.
The short crossing can be very unsafe in high seas, with big waves sending overfull, flimsy boats crashing into the rocky coasts or causing them to capsize.
Around 3,460 people have died trying to reach the continent, it said. However, there was no immediate information on their nationalities.
According to Dogan news agency, the incident took place on Wednesday and the Turkish coastguard rescued 27 refugees, including a pregnant woman.
European and African leaders are due to meet in Malta to discuss the refugee crisis with the EU.
Tsipras said financial aid could be offered to Turkey to undertake the registration and processing of migrants there, instead of in Greece. Faymann on Tuesday also urged quick completion of an agreement with Turkey offering Ankara billions of euros in aid for incentives to migrants to remain in Turkey instead of leaving for the EU.
Most of this year’s almost 800,000 migrants have been making their way to Germany through the so-called western Balkan route, which winds through Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Austria.
More than half a million migrants have crossed the Aegean Sea to the Greek islands from Turkey so far this year.
Advertisement
Madrazo said “we thought the process would go faster” but paperwork and preparations had been complex, adding that it was “strange that only three people can come now”.
