BREAKING NEWS

Greece recovers bodies of four migrants from sea floor

By REUTERS

FEBRUARY 7, 2014 21:33

ATHENS - Greek divers recovered the bodies on Friday of four migrants who drowned while their boat was being towed by a coastguard vessel last month.

The bodies of two adults and two children were brought to the surface from the wreckage of their boat, 73 meters (240 ft) below the surface of the Aegean Sea, the coastguard said in a statement.

"There were also other bodies ... who could not be recovered," it said.

Two people were confirmed drowned and ten declared missing on Jan. 24, when the boat capsized.

Greek prosecutors launched an inquiry after the UN refugee agency UNHCR, human rights groups and political parties asked whether the coastguard itself had caused the accident by trying to tow the boat toward Turkish waters, as some of the survivors have said.

Migrant drownings are not uncommon in Greece, a gateway to the European Union, but the latest incident has drawn accusations that Greece breached EU law by trying to push the 28 migrants back to Turkey, where they had set to sea.

The coastguard says they were towing the boat towards Greek waters, not to Turkey.

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