Greece: 3 dead, several missing as boat with migrants sinks

Authorities in Greece and Turkey say at least three people have died and several more are believed to be missing after a boat carrying migrants from Turkey sank off the Greek island of Kalymnos.

The Greek coast guard said 15 people were rescued and one body was recovered after the wooden boat sank in mild weather conditions before dawn Friday. Two other bodies believed to be from the same vessel were found by the Turkish coast guard.

Stranded migrants and refugees demonstrate during a rally in Athens, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. A few dozens people, among them young children, protested against delays in reuniting with their relatives in Germany as some of them will start hunger strike in front of the Greek Parliament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

A search for the missing migrants continued in Greek waters.

Greece has seen a spike in arrivals of migrants and refugees in recent months — rising to an average rate of 200 per day, according to the government.

In two other incidents early Friday, 127 people were rescued from boats in distress near the Greek island of Chios.

Stranded migrants and refugees demonstrate during a rally in Athens, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. A few dozens people, among them young children, protested against delays in reuniting with their relatives in Germany as some of them will start hunger strike in front of the Greek Parliament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Greece's government says an agreement last year between the European Union and Turkey to combat migrant trafficking is not in danger of collapsing, despite a strain in relations between the EU and Ankara.

Migrants who arrived on Greek islands after that agreement took effect in March 2016 are not allowed to travel to the mainland before their asylum claim has been examined — causing serious overcrowding at government-run camps.

Stranded migrants and refugees demonstrate during a rally in Athens, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017. A few dozens people, among them young children, protested against delays in reuniting with their relatives in Germany as some of them will start hunger strike in front of the Greek Parliament. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

"What's happening is that the EU-Turkey deal is only being half implemented, because the part that involves migrants being returned to Turkey is not happening," Chios Mayor Michalis Vournous told a parliamentary committee briefing in Athens on Thursday.

Vournous and other Greek island mayors said the government and the EU have delayed promised assistance to deal with the rising numbers of migrants.

"The situation must be alleviated on the islands for the sake of the local economy and local society. Island life needs to return to normal," he said.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A far-right Greek lawmaker has been charged with criminal assault for allegedly punching a colleague on the sidelines of a parliamentary debate Wednesday.

“We can indict the perpetrator of this vile and barbaric attack, to charge him with a felony under a fast-track procedure,” Parliament Speaker Constantine Tassoulas said, adding that parliamentary immunity applies to misdemeanors but not felonies.

The lawmaker, Constantinos Floros is an independent member of parliament who was elected with the small Spartans party in June 2023 but later left it.

The alleged assault victim was a lawmaker from the small nationalist Hellenic Solution party. State-run ERT television said he required hospital treatment for a broken nose.

The incident occurred during a debate on whether to lift the immunity from prosecution of the Hellenic Solution party leader following a complaint by a relative of Floros.

A prosecutor charged Floros with assaulting a politician. If convicted, he faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence. He remained in police detention and is due to appear before a magistrate Thursday.

Floros was suspended for 15 days over the incident, which was unprecedented in modern Greek parliamentary history. All political parties condemned the alleged assault.

Separately on Wednesday, Greece’s Supreme Court excluded the Spartans from a list of political parties that fulfill the requirements to field candidates in the European Parliament election in June.

The decision followed a petition by three political parties to bar the Spartans for alleged ties to the extreme-right Golden Dawn party, whose leading members were jailed in 2020 after being convicted of belonging to a criminal organization.

Far-right Greek lawmaker Constantinos Floros leaves the debate chamber moments prior to allegedly assaulting a colleague inside the Greek Parliament in Athens, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, on the sidelines of a parliamentary debate. (Michalis Karayiannis/ Eurokinissi via AP)