The number of illegal migrants who died when their vessel capsized in the Ionian Sea at the weekend rose to three Monday, port police said, adding that 18 were still missing.
The small boat was carrying 32 migrants — most of them Pakistanis, according to survivors — when it capsized en route to the Greek island of Kefalonia Saturday due to strong winds.
Two bodies were discovered on Saturday and a third on Monday, police said, adding that the Greek coastguard continued its search and rescue operation.
Thousands of would-be immigrants from Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent are intercepted in Greece every year trying to reach Europe through perilous sea crossings. Many die in the process.
