Three baby Syrian refugee girls drown between Turkey, Greece

İZMİR – Anadolu Agency

AA photo.

A 4-month-old baby girl drowned off the southwestern coast of Turkey when a vessel carrying refugees sank early on March 19, while two other girls, aged between 1 and 2 years-old, were found drowned by Greek Coast Guards off the tiny island of Ro.

According to the Turkish Coast Guard, 21 refugees were rescued, but the infant was found dead.
The refugee boat reportedly was en route to the Greek island of Chios when it sank off the coast of the Çeşme district.

Çeşme is just 7 kilometers from the island of Chios, providing a tempting target for refugees – mostly Syrians fleeing their country’s civil war.        

Two little girls were found drowned off Ro, while two Syrians suffered heart attacks on arrival at the island of Lesbos, Boris Cheshirkov, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, told AFP.

Of the more than 1 million refugees who arrived in the EU last year, more than 850,000 arrived by sea in Greece from Turkey, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

Up until mid-March, more than 144,000 arrivals to Greece by sea were reported by the UNHCR, while more than 400 people were reported either dead or missing perilous journey.