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Three people died on Monday and five were rescued when an inflatable boat carrying migrants sank off the coast of the Greek island of Samos in the Aegean Sea, police said.
Accidents involving migrants occur regularly off the coast of Greece — one of the most popular countries through which people fleeing poverty or war in Africa, Asia and the Middle East seek to enter the European Union.
In the latest incident, the boat sank early on Monday off the northwest coast of Samos, one of the Greek islands lying closest to Turkey, from where many migrants launch on their journey.
“Three bodies were pulled from the water and five people were rescued and are safe,” a port police press office official told AFP.
Port police said they had mounted a large-scale operation to search for others missing, with some local media saying up to 20 more people could be missing.
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