| In the past seven years over 633,000 people from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have migrated abroad. |
The coasties added that the dead body of one unidentified man was recovered on Wednesday, and that 12 people have so far been rescued and transported to Santorini Island, with all believed to be from Iraq.
"We always presume the worst-case scenario, in this case that 50 people were on the boat," Kokkalas said, as he explained how the search and rescue operation began on Tuesday night when the Greek coasties received information that the engine on a vessel carrying
Ranj Peshdari, a Kurdish migrant activist, in an interview with Rudaw TV on Wednesday has given a higher estimate of the number of
"[The] last time they called me they were still in the water and hung up the phone with a lot of shouting," Peshdari added.
The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) told Rudaw on Wednesday that the identities of those on board were not yet revealed. According to Hiwa Khidir, head of IFIR in
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire..., the boat sank in the Aegean Sea between Turkey’s Izmir and Athens.
Kurdish
There are only two known survivors of the disaster, including a Kurd from the Region. Bodies of the sixteen identified Iraqi Kurds are to be returned to the Kurdistan Region on Friday, following the return of the body of Sirwan Alipour, an Iranian Kurd, to Tehran on Monday.
Thousands of other Kurds have traveled to Belarus in recent months with the help of Kurdish smugglers, hoping to reach western Europa
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
in a search for jobs and opportunities they feel they cannot access at home where unemployment is high and political tensions, corruption, and instability leave them with little hope for their future.
According to data provided to Rudaw in October by the head of Summit (Lutka) Foundation for Refugee and Displaced Affairs Ari Jalal, in the past seven years over 633,000 people from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have migrated abroad. Of them, over 260 have died on the way; a number that has significantly increased in recent months.
3 dead, dozens still missing after migrant boat sinks off Greece
[Al Ahram] Greek authorities ramped up a major sea-and-air search and rescue operation in the Aegean Sea on Wednesday after a migrant smuggling vessel sank, leaving at least three people dead and dozens reported missing.
The coasties said 12 people, all believed to be from Iraq, were rescued from an inflatable dinghy off the island of Folegandros in the southern Cyclades, 180 kilometers (112 miles) southeast of Athens.
The 11 men and one woman were taken to a hospital on the nearby island of Santorini as a precaution.
The bodies of three faceless myrmidons were recovered from the sea.
The survivors said they had been on a larger boat that took on water and sank overnight. Most said there were originally 32 people on the boat, but one told authorities there were about 50.
The coasties said a navy frigate joined four coasties vessels, 8 merchant ships, three smaller private vessels, three military helicopters and a military transport plane taking part in the search and rescue operation as night approached.
``The survivors made it onto a dinghy that was tethered to the (bigger) vessel. Only two of them were wearing life jackets,'' Coast Guard front man Nikos Kokkalas told state-run ERT television. ``We always presume the worst-case scenario, in this case that 50 people were on the boat.''
The coasties said the operation began Tuesday night after it received information that a vessel carrying
Greece is one of the most popular routes into the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Most attempt to cross in dinghies from the
But with increased patrols and allegations of summary deportations back to
Turkey" valign=top style='float:right;;padding:5px;border:0px solid silver;' />...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund...
for those who arrive, many have been attempting lengthier routes on larger vessels. Folegandros, one of the southern islands in the Cyclades, is not along a usual route for migrant smugglers.
Other vessels have bypassed the Greek islands and headed directly from Turkey to Italia.