Europe Grapples with Massive Immigration Crisis as Dozens of Migrants Die in Mediterranean Shipwrecks

Strategic Insights -

Thousands of migrants, including many children, continue to flee war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, risking their lives to reach Europe. In the past 24 hours, more than 600 people were rescued by the Greek coast guard, while at least 50 migrants have died in shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea. The crisis has overwhelmed authorities in Greece, which is the main point of entry for people fleeing conflict and poverty.

Key Takeaways:

  • At least 50 migrants have died in shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea over the past three days, including 31 people who drowned in a single accident near the eastern island of Kalymnos.
  • Nearly 600 people were rescued by the Greek coast guard in the past 24 hours, while thousands more made it safely from Turkey to Greece's southeastern islands.
  • Greece is the main point of entry for people fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East and Africa, with well over half a million people arriving so far this year from the nearby Turkish coast.
  • European governments are weighing taking tougher measures to try to limit the number of arrivals in Europe, despite criticism from Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras that this would go against humanitarian values.
  • The influx has overwhelmed authorities in financially struggling Greece, with a backlog of thousands of migrants at the border with Austria and hundreds pushing through metal barriers and a police cordon.
  • The foreign minister of Hungary, which has fenced off its southern border, called the refugee crisis "the most serious challenge the European Union has ever faced."
  • Greek Prime Minister Tsipras accused Europe of an "inability to defend its humanitarian values" and urged stronger EU action to guard Greece's porous sea border with Turkey.

Statistics:

  • At least 50 migrants have died in shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea over the past three days.
  • Nearly 600 people were rescued by the Greek coast guard in the past 24 hours.
  • Well over half a million people have arrived in Greece from Turkey so far this year.
  • 19 people died and 138 were rescued in a single accident near Kalymnos.
  • 8 of the victims in the Kalymnos accident were children and 3 were babies.
  • 4 children drowned and 2 others were missing after two new accidents off the Greek islands of Lesbos and Samos.
  • 15 migrants were found alive on a boat in the Mediterranean Sea south of Spain, while 4 bodies were recovered.
  • 35 people are still missing after the accident.

Sources:

  • Greece's Merchant Marine Ministry
  • Greece's state-run agency
  • Spain's Marine Rescue service
  • Reuters
  • Associated Press