At least seven died in Thursday wreck off Greek island

iStock [For illustration]

At least seven people died when a boat carrying migrants was shipwrecked off a Greek islet on Thursday and another 90 were rescued, Greek authorities said on Friday.

Greece's coastguard said it had completed an operation to rescue 90 people whose sailing boat ran aground on an islet north of the island of Antikythera in southern Greece.

Seven bodies were recovered and a search operation was continuing, it said.

Greece is one of the main routes into the European Union for migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and beyond, though the flow has tapered off since 2015-2016, when more than a million people traversed the country to other EU states.

Thursday's wreck was the second in the Aegean Sea this week.

Overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday a boat thought to be carrying up to 50 people, also migrants, sank off the island of Folegandros, with dozens feared missing.

More from International

  • Iranian President Raisi killed in helicopter accident, state media says

    Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, seen as a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a helicopter crash in mountainous terrain near the Azerbaijan border, officials and state media said on Monday.

  • Israel intends to broaden Rafah sweep, Defence Minister tells US

    Israel intends to broaden its military operation in Rafah, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday told a senior aide to US President Joe Biden, who has warned against major action in the southern Gazan city that may risk mass civilian casualties. Israel describes Rafah, which abuts the Gaza Strip's border with the Egyptian Sinai, as the last stronghold of Hamas Islamists whose governing and combat capabilities it has been trying to dismantle during the more than seven-month-old war. After weeks of public disagreements with Washington over the Rafah planning, Israel on May 6 ordered Pale

  • New Taiwanese president calls on China to stop threats

    Taiwan President Lai Ching-te asked China on Monday to stop its military and political threats, saying in his inauguration speech that peace is the only choice and that Beijing had to respect the choice of the Taiwanese people.

  • India votes in fifth phase of elections

    Millions of Indians across 49 constituencies are casting ballots on Monday as the country’s six-week-long election enters its final stages.

  • South Africa's ex-leader Zuma barred from running for parliament

    South Africa's constitutional court ruled on Monday that former president Jacob Zuma was not eligible to run for parliament in this month's election, a decision that was closely watched as it has the potential to affect the outcome of the election.