5 migrants drown off Greek coast

Four migrant children drowned off the Greek island of Lesbos and one woman drowned in a separate incident off the island of Samos yesterday, all while trying to cross the sea from nearby Turkey, the Greek government said.

The Greek coastguard rescued 23 people in Turkish waters in the early hours of yesterday and four of them later died, government spokesman Pavlos Marinakis said. They were an 8-year-old boy and three girls aged 14, 8, and 11 months.

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Neither Marinakis nor the coastguard gave further details on the incident.

Separately, a woman and a child were found unconscious off the island of Samos overnight and the woman later died despite efforts to save her, Marinakis said.

Greece is one of the European Union's main entry points for migrants and refugees fleeing poverty and conflict in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.