3 children reported dead after Congolese migrant ship sank

Four children, three from the Democratic Republic of Congo and one from Nigeria, died due to hypothermia after their inflatable boat capsized in the Aegean Sea near the island of Leros.

The children, along with their parents, were among 46 migrants on board the boat who had paid smugglers to take them from the coast of Turkey.

The body of a dead African woman was also found and three more people, a woman and two children are still missing.

Two individuals from Afghanistan and Congo are facing prosecution as traffickers, identified by those rescued as the ones who navigated the boat.

The migrants had traveled from the area of Izmir in Turkey, in a truck and then on an inflatable boat during the night and in bad weather conditions before reaching the southeastern coast of the island.

The coast guard believes the point of departure was likely the town of Didim.