Dozens of migrants are missing and feared to be dead after a boat smuggling them into Europe capsized off the coast of Greece.
A rescue operation remains in place after a boat smuggling migrants into Europe capsized off the coast of Greece on Wednesday, with dozens of people at the time of writing still missing, who are now sadly feared dead.
The tragedy is likely the latest instance of boat migrants dying at the hands of ruthless people smugglers, with traffickers across Europe making a killing by sending people to their deaths on the Mediterranean and the English Channel aboard unseaworthy boats and all while bringing in huge profits.
According to a report by AFP, while rescuers have managed to save 29 people on the doomed vessel, many more are believed to still be missing.
“According to the statements of 29 rescued people, there were 80 people on the boat, so up to 50 people are missing,” an official from the Greece coastguard reportedly told the news agency.
Another spokesman for the org is meanwhile reported to have said that very few of the migrants were believed to be wearing life jackets, while 30mph (50kph) winds on the Aegean have made it more difficult for rescuers to search for any survivors.
The Greek shipping minister, Ioannis Plakiotakis, has since reportedly said that the Hellenic navy, as well as commercial shipping vessels, have since joined the search, though additional migrants have yet to be found or rescued at the time of writing.
Ruthless People Smugglers Kill Again: 30 Migrants Feared Dead in Unseaworthy Boathttps://t.co/59p1RzZJKz
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 29, 2022
While the exact fate of those still missing remains unknown, as time ticks on it looks more and more likely that many of those on the capsized vessel have become the latest victims of people traffickers, many of whom are raking in cash sending migrants to the EU and UK without due care for their safety.
According to data from the Missing Migrants Project by the International Organization for Migration, over a thousand migrants have either died or gone missing in the Mediterranian Sea this year.
Many of those people who ended up either missing or dead paid a pretty penny to people traffickers for the privilege, with EU Border Force Frontex giving the going rate for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to be around $2,000 per spot as of 2020.
Dozens of migrants who meanwhile tried to make the journey from Europe to Britain illegally on small boats have also met their demise at the hands of people smugglers, with 27 infamously dying in late 2021 after their boat capsized off the coast of Calais.
Despite these many deaths, people traffickers are still making huge amounts of money by sending people on this dangerous crossing, with many gangs who operate on the channel even reportedly launching a summer sale, drastically cutting the cost of being shipped to Britain from as much as £5,000 (~$6,000) to as little as £500 to £1,000 (~$600 to ~$,1200) seemingly in the hopes of getting more business.
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