At least 13 migrants died off the coast of Turkey Sunday after the inflatable dinghy carrying them to Greece collided with a ferry, Turkish media reported.
Advertisement
The first occurrence transpire near the connection of Canakkale throughout the Turkish coast.
Refugees wait to complete their registration procedure by the police at a registration center on the Greek island of Lesbos on September 8, 2015.
Eight people were rescued, who were taken to hospital, Erkal said.
Elsewhere thousands of migrants crossed in to Austria, seeking refuge after shuttling for days between bordering countries that were unable or unwilling to offer them shelter.
In Austria, more than 11,000 entered the country on Saturday, and another 4,700 arrived yesterday through the Nickelsdorf border post from Hungary after being shunted through Croatia, Hungary and Slovenia, said local police.
The comments come as 18,000 migrants and refugees were expected to arrive in Austria from neighbouring countries this weekend, with 16,000 crossing from Croatia into Hungary.
The survivors told officials that 26 people had boarded their vessel from Turkey, which sank when water leaked into it, leaving 13 passengers unaccounted for.
In the earlier incident overnight Friday, an 8-year-old girl drowned and between 10 and 12 other people were reported missing when their small wooden boat capsized off Lesvos after running out of fuel.
The tragedies made clear the deadly risks those fleeing war and desperation in the Middle East, Africa and Asia are willing to take in the hope of reaching sanctuary in Europe.
“We have a huge respect for Turkey’s efforts”, Foreign Ministry deputy spokeswoman Sawsan Chebli said at a news conference in Berlin.
“We have many problems in our country”, said Pakistani migrant Muhammed Ali.
He said it will result in Hungary building a fence – similar to that it built on its border with Serbia – along its frontier with Croatia.
Twenty-six migrants were thought to be missing after a dinghy carrying them sank off the Greek island of Lesbos on Sunday, the coastguard said.
Advertisement
Around 700 mostly Syrian men, women and children from a group that had been blocked for the past week at Istanbul’s main bus station set out overnight on foot for the northwestern city of Edirne, 250 kilometers (150 miles) away. That was a reference to corruption charges filed recently against Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
