Greek port police on Monday said at least 16 people including women and children have died in a suspected refugee boat sinking off the Aegean island of Lesbos.
The bodies of six women, a child and two men were recovered in Greek waters, while the Turkish coast guard found the bodies of another six men and a child, the Greek coast guard said in a statement.
Greek authorities had received no distress call prior to finding the bodies, a coast guard spokeswoman said.
Weather conditions in the area were mild.
Searches continue after a pregnant woman, one of two survivors, told officials that there had been a total of 25 people on board.
According to the two African survivors, the boat capsized on Sunday night, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said.
Greece’s Aegean Sea islands are a primary transit point for refugees seeking to reach Europe from Turkey.
In 2015 and last year, more than 1,000 refugees perished in the dangerous sea crossing.
More than 1 million people have landed in Greece since 2015, many of them fleeing civil war in Syria.
Another entry point is in northern Greece near the Turkish border where there was another accident involving refugees on Monday.
A van carrying 15 refugees overturned in a high-speed chase with police, killing a 35-year-old Iranian on board, Greek police said in a statement.
Three migrants and the driver of the van, a 29-year-old Moldovan, were injured and hospitalized, police said.
Authorities added that as well as the deceased there were five Bangladeshis, three Pakistanis, three Iraqis and three Iranians in the van.
There have been fewer of these deadly accidents in the past year following an accord between the EU and Turkey reached in March last year that has curtailed the influx of refugees.
According to UNHCR, about 4,900 people have tried to make the crossing from Turkey to Greece since the beginning of this year, compared with 173,450 reported arrivals last year.
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