At least 12 dead, 12 missing in latest Aegean boat sinking

On Tuesday, six children died when another boat carrying Afghan migrants sank in Turkish waters while on its way to Greece.

Escorted by police motorcyclists and patrol cars, almost 30 buses carrying about 1,500 people headed south from the Idomeni border crossing area.

The police official said the refugees would be taken to Athens on buses and will be accommodated in centres before being sent back to their home countries.

A man makes the victory sign behind a bus window as he leaves with…

The migrants who are primarily from non-war-torn Pakistan, Somalia, Morocco, Algeria and Bangladesh will be sheltered in an indoor sports stadium and disused premises at the former airbase of Hellinikon in Athens, the statement said, adding that about 350 police officers were deployed to hold the operation.

The humanitarian workers were asked to leave the area during the operation while journalists and photographs were told to keep the distance of about three kilometers “to protect them from any possible violence, tension or threatening and aggressive behavior”.

Many Turks could benefit from visa-free travel to Europe’s Schengen zone within a year if Turkey meets conditions on tightening its borders in the east to Asian migrants and moves other benchmarks on reducing departures to Europe.

The migrants have been stranded at the border for three weeks after authorities in Macedonia restricted access to citizens from countries normally granted political asylum, such as Syria and Iraq.

Greek coast guard and navy vessels, a helicopter and a vessel from the European border agency Frontex were searching for survivors off the Greek island of Farmakonissi after the boat sank early Wednesday.

The Turkish Coast Guard also rescued two refugees, as five others managed to swim to the Turkish mainland.

Tuesday, six Afghan children who were trying to reach the island of Chios, further north, had also been found drowned off the coast of the Turkish province of Izmir (west) after the sinking of their boat, according to the Turkish news agency Anatolia.

The influx of hundreds of thousands of migrants into Greece since August prompted an agreement last week under which the European Union will pay Turkey €3bn (£2.1bn) towards the cost of Syrian refugees while Turkey will try to reduce the numbers crossing into Greece.

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