Dramatic rescues as boats sink off Greece; 16 women dead

Residents of a Greek island pulled shipwrecked migrants to safety up steep cliffs in dramatic rescues after two boats sank in Greek waters, leaving at least 16 people dead and dozens still missing.

The coast guard said the 16 bodies — all of young African women — had been recovered overnight near the eastern island of Lesbos after a dinghy carrying about 40 people sank. Nine women were rescued, while 15 other migrants were believed to be missing, coast guard officials said.

"The women who were rescued were in a full state of panic so we are still trying to work out what happened," coast guard spokesman Nikos Kokkalas told state television. "The women were all from African countries, aged 20 upward. ... There is a search on land as well as at sea and we hope that survivors made it to land."

The second rescue effort was launched several hundred kilometers (miles) to the west, off the island of Kythira, where a sailboat struck rocks and sank. Kokkalas said 80 people had been rescued while a search continued for as many as 15 still believed to be missing.

With winds in the area reaching 70 kph (45 mph), Fire Service rescuers and local volunteers on Kythira lowered ropes to help migrants climb up cliffs on the seafront.

A shocking #drowning accident. About 100 migrants and rescue operations continue#Greece
C.R.G
Consolidated Rescue Group pic.twitter.com/w31vq2nRwz

— Consolidated Rescue Group (@unifiedrescueg1) October 6, 2022

Survivors clinging to ropes were pulled to safety up steep cliffs as others were buffeted by waves as they waited their turn on tiny areas of rock at the bottom.

"All the residents here went down to the harbor to try and help," Martha Stathaki, a local resident told The Associated Press.

"We could see the boat smashing against the rocks and people climbing up those rocks to try and save themselves. It was an unbelievable sight."

Kythira is some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Turkey and on a route often used by smugglers to bypass Greece and head directly to Italy.

The deaths occurred amid a heated spat between Greece and Turkey over the safety of migrants at sea with Athens accusing its neighbor of failing to stop smugglers active on its shoreline and even using migrants to apply political pressure on the European Union.

Notis Mitarachi, the Greek minister for migration, wrote in a tweet Thursday: "Urgent call to Turkey to take immediate action to prevent all irregular departures due to harsh weather conditions. Already today many lives lost in the Aegean, people are drowning in unseaworthy vessels. EU must act."

Footage from Turkish coastguard violently pushing forward migrants to Greece, in violation of international law and the EU joint statement. This video was filmed by a refugee who was saved by 🇬🇷. It is further proof of the instrumentalization of migration flows by 🇹🇷 #migration pic.twitter.com/sXG74VxBYo

— Νότης Μηταράκης - Notis Mitarachi (@nmitarakis) October 5, 2022

Turkey denies the allegations and has publicly accused Greece of carrying out reckless summary deportations, known as pushbacks.

Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accused Greece of "turning the Aegean Sea into a graveyard" and held up photographs of dead migrant children.

Most migrants reaching Greece travel from nearby Turkey, but smugglers have changed routes in recent months in an effort to avoid heavily patrolled waters around Greek islands near the Turkish coastline.