At least 16 migrants have been killed on a Greek ship by Reuters

ATHENS (Reuters) – At least 16 people were killed in a landslide on the Greek island of Paros in the central Aegean Sea on Friday, the third most devastating maritime disaster this week, the country’s coastguard reported.

Authorities conducted a search and rescue operation last night in northwestern Paros. Air and sea assets were deployed to the area, coastguards said.

Greece is one of the main routes for migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and beyond to enter the European Union, although the flow of more than a million people crossing the country to other EU countries has slowed.

The country’s Athens-based news agency said the bodies of 12 men, three women and a child had been recovered from the area.

Eighty people were on board, according to coastguards, on their way from Turkey to Italy.

The circumstances surrounding the overturning of the ship were unclear.

Greek naval minister Giannis Plakiotakis said groups of traffickers were responsible for the disaster.

The gangs are “indifferent to human life, piling up dozens of people, without life jackets, in ships that do not comply with the most basic safety regulations,” he said in a statement.

Earlier on Friday, Greek authorities said 11 bodies had been recovered at the scene of another shipwreck when a sailboat carrying migrants sank uninhabited on an island in southern Greece on Thursday.

Another 90 people were rescued during the operation. The Coast Guard said initial information suggested that these migrants had also moved to Italy.

A ship believed to be carrying 50 migrants from Tuesday to Wednesday sank on the island of Folegandros, claiming dozens were missing.