Migrant boats capsize off Greek Islands Farmakonisi and Kalolimnos – 21 killed

At least 44 people, including 17 children, drowned on Friday in the Aegean Sea as two smuggling boats sunk off different Greek islands.

The Greek coast guard says dozens have survived and a search and rescue operation is under way for more potential survivors.

An official admitted that while 26 people were rescued, at least thirty-five drowned. “We do not yet have a clear picture of how many were on board”, the official added.

In the first sinking, a wooden boat carrying 48 people smashed into rocks off the small islet of Farmakonissi just after midnight.

The Greek authorities said they managed to rescue one girl, while 40 people who had been onboard managed to reach land on their own.

Despite winter weather, refugees – many from Syria – are still making the perilous journey from Turkey in flimsy boats every day.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that some 31,000 migrants have reached Greece by sea so far this year, hoping to start new lives in Germany, Sweden and elsewhere in the European Union.

More than 700 people have died in the Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece as over million refugees fled to Europe in the last 12 months.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would press Turkey to step up to its “key role” in stemming the flow of migrants to Europe in talks with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Friday.

At least another one hundred have died in the Aegean this year.

IOM spokesman Joel Millman in Geneva reported a total number of migrants arriving by sea was roughly 37,000 in January, which is over six times the combined numbers for the same month in 2014 and 2015.

It’s not surprising that children made up a large portion of those killed in the separate tragedies Friday, as one in four of refugees and migrants crossing the Mediterranean since January 2015 are children, according to the U.N. Refugee Agency, UNHCR.

A few hours later, a sailboat sank off Kalolimnos, south of Farmakonissi.

Over a million migrants arrived in Europe illegally previous year.

Turkey’s state-run Anadolu news agency said the Turkish coastguard rescued six survivors from the area of the two accidents and found another three bodies.

AFP correspondents who reported on the wave of migrants heading from Turkey to Greece have seen a booming trade in life jackets in Turkish resorts for sale at suspiciously low prices.