The Greek coast guard said it had rescued 18 survivors from the shipwreck, which happened on the east coast of the Aegean island about 10 kilometers north of the main city Mytilene.

According to the migrants' accounts, some of the people on board the dinghy had jumped into the water.

The independent Greek newspaper Efimerida ton Syntakton (Efsyn) reported that about 24 survivors escaped into the surrounding hills. Other reports said 16 people were still missing.

The coast guard said that the search for people onshore was ongoing, but the strong winds in the area prevented authorities from carrying out searches at sea.

According to Efsyn, the boat had launched from the Turkish coast.

Praise and criticism of migration 'management'

Greece is one of the main entry points to Europe for undocumented migrants from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa. In 2023, around 41,500 migrants arrived in Greece by sea, mostly to Lesbos, according to data from the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Most migrants arriving on the Greek islands are accommodated in closed facilities (CCACs) – at the end of last year around 16,000 people were being held in the centers, figures from UNHCR Greece show. The Greek government said the CCACs would mean improved living conditions for migrants, but since restrictions on food and other conditions were introduced last year, many asylum seekers have been excluded from access to basic services.

Also read: Fearing pushbacks, migrants seek a safe haven in Mavrovouni camp of Lesbos

Greece has also introduced harsh measures aimed at stopping undocumented migrants from reaching the country by land or sea. In the Aegean it has increased patrols with the help of the European Union’s border agency Frontex. However, non-government organizations and migrants have given accounts of officials deploying abusive and illegal practices. According to their testimonies, migrants attempting to reach Greece have been intercepted, often by masked men, and forcibly pushed back to sea.

The Greek government denies the claims. In Athens on Monday (January 8), Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said Greece had "managed migration flows in 2023 more effectively than many of our partners."

The EU Vice-President Margaritis Schinas and Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson also praised Greece for its "remarkable" and "impressive" management of migration at the Athens conference.

The EU’s support for Greece has angered human rights activists, who say that its policies are causing suffering and deaths. They have repeated calls for a European investigation into a shipwreck off Pylos last June in which hundreds of migrants died.

Forty of the survivors of the Pylos tragedy have filed a group lawsuit against Greek authorities alleging they failed to take appropriate action before the boat sank.

With AP, AFP, Reuters