A boat carrying a yet unspecified number of undocumented migrants sank off the coasts of Tilos island in the Aegean Sea on Friday, causing the death of at least one passenger, Greek authorities said.
According to preliminary information from the Coast Guard, the tragedy occurred when the dinghy for still unclear reasons caught fire as it was sailing in international waters off the Greek island.
The dead body of a person was collected, while a rescue operation is underway to trace an unidentified number of missing people.
According to the Greek Coast Guard, a Turkish military vessel which also rushed to the area along Greek vessels and a Greek Coast Guard helicopter, rescued an unknown number of migrants.
Over the past two days, according to official data, Greek Coast Guard rescued and detained approximately 180 undocumented migrants across the Aegean Sea, as they were trying to enter Greece from Turkey.
Thousands of migrants try to enter illegally the European Union via Greece on an annual basis in recent years and hundreds perish in the sea. Greek Coast Guard has saved more than 2,500 people in the past two years.