Three dead, 20 missing as another migrant boat sinks off Greece

Three migrants died and more than 20 were feared missing after a second boat sank off the coast of Greece in just days, the coastguard said on Tuesday.

The two women and one man who drowned are believed to have been part of a group of 41 people whose dinghy sank after hitting a reef near the island of Lesbos, a coastguard spokeswoman told the media.

Sixteen people have been rescued so far amid an ongoing search by land, sea and air that's being hampered by strong winds, she added.

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On Sunday, four children and a woman died when a boat carrying another group from neighbouring Turkey sank off the Greek island of Leros.

The coastguard managed to rescue 41 people, including six children and two adults.

The number of migrants requiring rescue has risen in recent weeks as more people attempt to reach Greece from Turkish shores on shoddy and overcrowded vessels despite the rough winter seas.

In December, a two-month-old baby died in a shipwreck off Lesbos.

Some 2,246 people fleeing wars and poverty are known to have lost their lives in the eastern Mediterranean since 2014, according to statistics from the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Agence France-Presse