At least 16 people were killed when their boat capsized off the Greek island of Paros in the Aegean on Friday, the third maritime disaster involving migrants this week, the Greek Coast Guard said.
Authorities launched a search and rescue operation overnight northwest of Paros. Air and sea vessels are stationed in the area, the Coast Guard said.
Greece is one of the main routes to the European Union for migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and beyond, although the flow has been declining since 2015-2016, when more than a million people crossed the country to other EU countries.
The Greek news agency ANA-MPA reported that the bodies of 12 men, three women and a baby were found in the area.
It is estimated that there were 80 people on board the boat, who according to the coast guard are believed to have sailed for Italy from Turkey.
The circumstances in which the vessel capsized are not clear.
Yannis Plakiotakis, Greece's shipping minister, said human trafficking gangs were responsible for the disasters.
"Gangs are indifferent to human life, trampling dozens of people, without life jackets, in vessels that do not meet the most basic safety standards," he said in a written statement.
Earlier on Friday, Greek authorities announced that they had removed 11 bodies from the site of another shipwreck when a boat carrying migrants sank off an uninhabited island in southern Greece on Thursday.
Another 90 people were rescued in the operation. The Coast Guard said initial information suggested that these migrants had also sailed for Italy.
During the night between Tuesday and Wednesday, a boat believed to be carrying up to 50 migrants sank off the island of Folegandros, with dozens missing.
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