One dead, dozens missing as a refugee ship sinks on the Greek coast Refugee News

Only two of the dozens of people on board were wearing life jackets, the coastguard said.

At least one person has been killed and dozens more are believed to be missing after a boat carrying refugees and migrants sank off the coast of Folegandros, on a Greek island.

The body of the unidentified man was recovered in a search and rescue operation launched earlier Wednesday after the ship sank 180 km (112 miles) southeast of Athens.

According to a Greek coastguard, 12 people, including children, are believed to have been from Iraq and were rescued and taken to the nearby island of Santorini.

Most of the survivors said there were initially 32 people on board, but one told authorities there were about 50.

The Coast Guard said four of its ships, two Army and Air Force helicopters, a military transport plane, five passing ships and three private ships were involved in the search and rescue operation.

“The survivors boarded a boat that was tied to the boat. Only two of them wore life jackets, ”Coast Guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told ERT TV.

“We always think the worst case scenario, in this case, was 50 people on board.”

The Coast Guard said the operation began on Tuesday night after receiving information that a boat carrying migrants had broken down the engine and then began taking water south of Folegandros.

Greece is one of the most popular access routes to the European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Most people try to cross it by boat from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands in the eastern Aegean.

But as patrols and allegations of short departures return to Turkey for those arriving, many have tried longer routes on larger ships.

Folegandros, one of the southern islands of the Cyclades, is not on the usual smuggling route.

Other ships have bypassed the Greek islands and headed straight for the Turkish coast to Italy.

About 8,500 asylum seekers have arrived in Greece this year, most of them from the northeastern border with Turkey, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Migration (IOM) refugee agency.

About 1,900 people died or disappeared in the Mediterranean this year when they embarked on a dangerous voyage, compared to about 1,500 last year, according to IOM data.