Firefighters retrieve the body of a migrant from the beach after a shipwreck on the island of Rhodes, southeastern Greece, Monday, Nov. 23, 2020. Greece's coast guard says a speedboat that appeared to have been smuggling migrants to the island of Rhodes from nearby Turkey partially sank before reaching land Monday, leaving one person dead. (Argyris Mantikos/Eurokinissi via AP)

Speedboat taking migrants to Greece partially sinks; 1 dead

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 7:23 AM ET Nov. 23, 2020

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A speedboat that appeared to have been smuggling migrants to the Greek island of Rhodes from nearby Turkey partially sank before reaching land, leaving one person dead, Greece's coast guard said Monday.

The coast guard said it received information about the speedboat near the northwestern coast of Rhodes on Monday morning. Thirteen people who had been on board were found safe on the nearby shore, while the body of one man was recovered.

The survivors told authorities that 14 people had been on the speedboat. However, coast guard patrol boats were searching the area in case more people might have been on board.

Greece remains one of the most popular routes into the 27-nation European Union for people fleeing conflict and poverty in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.