UNHCR - Statement on boat incident off Greece coast
UNHCR is dismayed to have learned of a boat cap-sizing off the coast of Greece in the early hours of this morning, which has left a woman and a child dead and 10 other people missing, among them infants and children.
According to accounts from some of the 16 survivors and Greek Coast Guard, the vessel was carrying 26 Afghans and two Syrians. It was intercepted in the southern Aegean Sea shortly after midnight following a mechanical breakdown and while apparently en route from Turkey to Greece. The boat, with all 28 passengers still aboard, was being towed by a Coast Guard vessel when it capsized. The survivors, now on the island of Leros, told UNHCR they were being towed in the direction of Turkey at the time of the accident.
"UNHCR is urging the authorities to investigate this incident and how lives were lost on a boat that was under tow," said Laurens Jolles, UNHCR's Southern Europe Regional Representative. "In addition survivors need to be quickly moved to the mainland so that their needs can be better looked after."
Tuesday's incident is the first of its kind in 2014, and the latest in a string of recent boat disasters in the Mediterranean involving people fleeing by sea towards Europe. More than 360 people died on October 3rd 2013 in a capsizing off of Italy's Lampedusa. Several other deadly incidents were reported over the following weeks.
Irregular boat crossings of the Mediterranean typically involve a mix of migrants and asylum seekers but conflict in Syria and the Horn of Africa region is being reflected in recent higher numbers of deaths of people fleeing refugee-producing countries.
In 2013, some 40,000 people arrived by irregularly by boat in Italy, Malta, and Greece. This compares to more than 60,000 in 2011 during the Libya crisis. Irregular boat crossings of the Mediterranean typically occur between March and October during the Spring and summer months, however this year they have been continuing throughout the winter, despite the extreme weather conditions. So far in Italy alone, over 1,700 people have arrived by sea.
UNHCR has urged European and other governments to work together to reduce losses of life among people making dangerous sea journeys across the Mediterranean and the world's other major sea frontiers, including by continuing to strengthen search and rescue operations, as well as the creation of legal migration alternatives to dangerous irregular movements.
Media Contacts
- Ketty Kehayioylou (Athens) +30 694 02 77 485
- Adrian Edwards (Geneva) +41 79 557 9120
- Dan McNorton (Geneva) +41 79 217 3011
Related news and stories
Women-run businesses in Afghanistan dealt a blow by deepening restrictions
Earthquake survivors in Türkiye count the devastating toll
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
Twelve years on, Syrian refugees face deepening debt and hunger
UNHCR launches new appeal for Afghan refugees and hosts, urging partners to stay the course
Visiting earthquake-ravaged areas of Türkiye and Syria, UNHCR's Grandi urges more support for survivors trying to rebuild
Your search for « Syria » matched 4302 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 6 of 112 pages.
-
Learning to live again
7 Oct 2014 ... The crisis in Syria has ripped millions of families from their homes, their country and each other. ... Many have been forced to flee with little more than the clothes on their backs. For Syria's ...... -
UN and partners launch plan to support five million Syrian refugees and countries hosting them
12 Dec 2017 ... The Syria crisis has been going on for seven years. 5.3 million people are displaced beyond Syria’s borders. Another seven million internally displaced people (IDPs) are displaced [inside Syria]. ...... -
UNHCR's Grandi appalled at suffering of civilians in Syria
9 Mar 2018 ... human tragedy resulting from the conflict in Syria, which has now been raging for seven years. ... See also: Q&A: Syria's Eastern Ghouta 'on the verge of major disaster' Grandi told reporters that ...... -
United Nations calls for sustained support to Syrians and the region ahead of Brussels conference
13 Mar 2019 ... at the third Brussels Conference on Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region, three UN Principals today warned that the Syria crisis is not yet over and called for sustained and large-scale ...... -
UN appeals for a record US$6.5 billion for Syria operations in 2014
16 Dec 2013 ... See also: Syria Regional Response Plan (RPP6) GENEVA, December 16 (UNHCR) - Faced with the prospect of a worsening situation inside Syria and growing numbers of refugees in 2014, UN agencies on Monday ...... -
UNHCR Country Operations Plan 2007: Syrian Arab Republic
1 Mar 2009 ... The Syrian Government also respects this arrangement for Palestinians who entered Syria after the ... of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, UNHCR in Syria continued to perform its mandate activities ...... -
Syria Regional Response Plan, March 2012
23 Mar 2012 ... 1 Syria Regional Response Plan March 2012 UNITED NATIONS 2 Syrian Refugee child in northern Lebanon ... This Syria Regional Response Plan is a strategic framework document prepared by the Office of the ...... -
Syria Fact Sheet - Timeline and Figures
27 Sep 2013 ... FACT SHEET: TIMELINE AND FIGURES The Syria crisis began on March 15, 2011 as a peaceful protest ... UNHCR teams have been helping the displaced within Syria and in Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and ...... -
Syria conflict at 5 years: the biggest refugee and displacement crisis of our time demands a huge surge in solidarity
15 Mar 2016 ... As Syria's war reaches another grim milestone today, refugees fleeing the 5-year conflict face ... "Syria is the biggest humanitarian and refugee crisis of our time, a continuing cause of suffering ......