At least 18 migrants died in two shipwrecks in Greece on Thursday night. A boat with around 40 people on board sank off the east coast of the island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea in strong winds. The inmates are said to have been exclusively women, and 16 of them were found dead by morning, according to the Greek coast guard. Nine were rescued, and boats and helicopters were used to search for at least 15 other women.

The night was also dramatic on the island of Kythira in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula. There, on Wednesday evening in strong winds, a sailing boat with around 95 migrants crashed into a rocky cliff and broke apart. Two people were recovered dead by morning. Rescue workers and residents managed to bring 80 others to safety. Video footage showed the desperate people trying to climb the cliff. In this case, too, the salvage operation continued on Thursday.

In many places in the Aegean there are currently strong winds and waves typical of the season. Nevertheless, migrants have recently tried again to get from the Turkish west coast and countries in the Middle East to Greece or even directly to southern Italy. The boats are usually hopelessly overcrowded and in poor condition, and serious accidents happen again and again.