Refugee crisis: 42 people drown trying to reach Greece

Kotzias’ remarks came as Austria, Hungary and Slovenia put pressure on Greece to stop the flow of migrants and refugees through its territory.

Of the survivors, “most are in a state of shock”.

At least 60 people have died in Greek waters this month while trying to cross from Turkey in unseaworthy boats provided by Turkish smuggling gangs. In the meantime, Germany – where most immigrants are heading – has welcomed those it considers refugees.

Police spokesman Daniel Drageset says 82 people have, however, been formally arrested inside a camp for refuges facing deportation in Kirkenes, a Norwegian town close to the Russian border, for fear they might flee.

In the second tragedy off Farmakonissi Greek Coast Guard recovered the bodies of six children and one woman after rescuing 40 survivors.

There was no official explanation for the move late Friday, and Macedonian authorities were not immediately available for comment.

The Syrian witness told Sky News Network he was a survivor on a vessel that capsized in the Aegean Sea near the island of Kalolimnos.

Three helicopters and patrol boats from the Greek coastguard and the European border agency Frontex were part of the rescue operations, alongside fishing vessels.

“These deaths highlight both the heartlessness and the futility of the growing chorus demanding greater restrictions on refugee access to Europe”, said John Dalhuisen, Amnesty International’s Europe and Central Asia program director.

German and Turkish leaders had a joint cabinet meeting in Berlin on Friday on a big topic “How to tackle Europe’s migrant crisis?”

In the latest crackdown on firms exploiting refugees, Turkish police have reportedly have seized more than 2,500 unsafe life jackets destined for migrants wanting to cross the Aegean.

Merkel has so far resisted demands for a quota, after almost 1.1 million asylum seekers arrived in Germany in 2015.

Merkel also won praise from Davutoglu for her leadership in the refugee crisis, who said: “Mrs Merkel has taken a historic step in the conscience of humanity”.

In a separate incident, a wooden sailboat carrying an undetermined number of people sank off the island of Kalolimnos.

Dozens of refugees, including 17 children, have died in two shipwrecks off the coast of Greece.

Turkey is especially important, not just because of its geographic position on Europe’s doorstep and the ability of its aviation sector to bring people from across the globe to Istanbul, but because Ankara has long sought a deeper partnership with the European Union as a prospective member.