Four children died in a group of migrants off the Greek island of Lesvos after they tried to cross the sea from neighboring Turkey.
(Bloomberg) — Four children died in a group of migrants off the Greek island of Lesvos after they tried to cross the sea from neighboring Turkey.
While Greece’s coastguard rescued 19 other people from the group, officials were unable to save the children despite efforts to provide first aid, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis told reporters Monday. They included girls aged 14, 8 and 11 months and an 8-year old boy, he said.
The tragedy took place at 6 a.m. on Monday in Turkish territorial waters, Marinakis said.
“It’s imperative that the wretched networks of smugglers who exploit vulnerable people are taken out at their root,” he said.
Migration has become a difficult subject for Greece’s government, particularly after more than 500 migrants drowned off the southwest coast in international waters after the vessel they were traveling on capsized while trying to reach Italy from Libya.
(Updates with Greek government spokesman comments throughout.)
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