Greece faults Turks in migrant capsizing

ATHENS, Greece — Greece’s migration minister has accused neighboring Turkey of endangering migrants at sea and ignoring an agreement with the EU to stem illegal migration into Europe, citing survivor testimony from a recent boat accident in the Aegean.

In a letter to European Commission vice president Margaritis Schinas and other European Union officials, Notis Mitarachi said the allegations stemmed from an incident just inside Turkish waters Friday that left three people missing. The Greek coast guard rescued another 10 migrants, nine in Turkish waters and one who had swum into Greek waters.

Mitarachi claimed the Turkish coast guard had detected and approached the inflatable dinghy after it left Turkey’s shores heading for the Greek island of Lesbos.

“According to testimony, not only did it not try to deter (the boat) but allowed it to continue on its course, to illegally enter European Union waters,” he said in the letter released Tuesday by the migration ministry.

Mitarachi also claimed that the Turkish patrol vessel raised waves that led to the boat’s capsizing. “Afterwards, instead of immediately carrying out a search and rescue operation, the Turkish vessel left the spot,” he wrote.