Since the sailboat capsized in the perilous waters between the islands of Evia and Andros, east of the Greek capital, early on Tuesday, only 12 persons, all of whom are men, have been discovered alive.
The first nine survivors, who were discovered on the rocks of an isolated island, informed the authorities that they had been travelling on a sailboat with roughly 68 other people when it sailed off the Turkish coast from Izmir.
The initial rescue effort was carried out in the Caviris Strait, which separates the two islands and is known for its ferocious surf.
The boat’s drowning is the most recent in a string of fatal boats that transport migrants across the Greek Seas.
A separate search and rescue operation is taking place in the east of the Aegean Sea off the island of Samos, which is located near the Turkish coast, for seven people who are still missing after a boat was carrying 12 people on Monday.
The Coast Guard reported that all four people who were rescued on Monday were Palestinians. On Tuesday, a body was found.
Every year, thousands of individuals attempt to join the European Union through Greece as they leave war and poverty in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
Most of them make a short but risky journey often from the Turkish coast to the Greek islands near the rubber boats that are often navigated.
Others decide to attempt a circumnavigation of Greece on crowded yachts and sailing vessels that are travelling straight toward Italy.
Last month, two accidents involving two different boats resulted in at least 27 persons drowning.
In one of them, a Turkish boat that sank off the east Aegean island of Lesbus claimed the lives of 18 passengers.
In the other, a boat with roughly 100 people on board sank in a storm, claiming the lives of at least nine individuals and leaving six more missing.
Death boats keep sailing, picking up new victims off the coast of Greece.
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