The UN refugee agency has urged Greece to investigate the deaths of at least two migrants including a child in the Aegean Sea after allegations that the coastguard shares blame in the tragedy.
The UNHCR agency late yesterday said it had received eyewitness testimony that a boat carrying Afghan and Syrian migrants had capsized over the weekend whilst being towed "at high speed" by a Greek coastguard vessel towards Turkish waters.
Out of the 28 people on board, a woman and child were found dead and ten others are missing.
The Greek coastguard today denied pushing back the migrants towards Turkey. It noted that the boat had indeed been towed owing to bad weather, but in the direction of Greece, not Turkey.
The boat sank near the Greek island of Farmakonisi.
"Towing the boat was the most appropriate method as boarding the vessel would have been dangerous given the weather conditions," the Greek coastguard said.
Greece is one of the main ports of entry into the European Union for migrants and refugees fleeing war-torn and impoverished countries in Africa, the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
Refugee arrivals have soared over the past year because of the ongoing war in Syria. Arrivals by sea have increased owing to stricter controls on the Greek-Turkish northern land border.
In November, German-based rights group ProAsyl had accused Greek authorities of pushing migrants back to Turkey in violation of international convention practises.
