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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.
