The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and UN migration agency (IOM) in Greece have made an impassioned plea for the EU to create "safe pathways" in European waterways in the wake of two shipwreck tragedies in Greece.

A total of 22 people have been reported dead to date after two separate incidents involving vessels carrying migrants which sank off the Greek islands of Lesvos and Kythira.

'Prevent such tragedies rather than point fingers'

Athens laid the blame for the latest tragedy in Greek waters squarely at Turkey, with Greece's Minister of Shipping and Island Policy, Yiannis Plakiotakis stating that "once again, Turkey's tolerance of the rings of unscrupulous traffickers is costing human lives."

Rather than focus on pointing the finger of blame, however, the UNHCR and IOM have spoken out in an effort to try and convince authorities to prevent such tragedies in the future.

These latest tragedies, say the two UN Agencies, "are painful reminders that more needs to be done to prevent people fleeing persecution and war from entrusting their lives to unscrupulous smugglers."

"This reiterates the need to intensify international cooperation to save lives and improve rights-based pathways for safe and regular migration," the agencies added.

Around 7,000 arrivals in Greece in 2022

So far in 2022, there have been around 7,000 sea arrivals in Greece. The main nationalities include Palestinians, Afghans and Somalis.

Before last week's tragedies, and since the beginning of 2022, 237 people have been recorded dead or missing in their attempt to cross the Eastern Mediterranean route, according to IOM's missing migrants project, while the total number of dead or missing in the Mediterranean Sea for the same period of time is 1,522.

At the beginning of October there was another incident with 56 migrants rescued on October 1 after the vessel they were sailing in got into trouble near the Ionian islands of Kefalonia.

A rescue operation was launched by the Hellenic Coast Guard after the sailing boat -- which was bound for Italy -- with 56 migrants on board was spotted unmanned around 33 nautical miles southwest of Kefalonia.

It was already announced that Turkish nationals had been arrested in connection with that incident for allegedly transporting irregular migrants trying to reach Italy in the sailboat.

During the preliminary investigation, authorities determined that three men were responsible for transporting the migrants from the Turkish shores to the shores of Italy.

Attempted border crossings remain on the rise

This incident is just the latest in a long line of similar occurrences that have taken place over the course of the summer with thousands of migrants attempting to enter Europe via Greece's sea and land borders, with the issue adding to already troubled political relations between Greece and neighboring Turkey.

Indeed, Greek officials announced last month that as part of new, increased security measures, they plan to boost its border patrol force with extra boats and aircraft for its coast guard in the eastern Aegean Sea, as well as install new electronic monitoring devices.

Athens also plans to extend the border fence along the northeastern border with Turkey, where there has also been a lot of activity over the summer, following a meeting of the council for foreign affairs and defense in August.