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Another tragedy of illegal immigrants near the Greek island of Lefkada in the region of Paleros took the lives of eight victims. Later in the day 4 more bodies have been found. Thus, the total number of the victims is 12.

According to Skai TV, at dawn, the immigrants had themselves informed the police from a mobile phone that they had been on board a ship and in danger. The Greek coast guard had immediately set off to the scene and had seen a ship turned upside down.

    15 illegal immigrants had been able to swim safely to the nearest coast but the authorities have found the bodies of eight others. According to the immigrants, there had been more people on board. A large-scale operation of the Greek coast guard is searching for survivors of the accident.

     There are four children, aged between 3 and 6 years, among the victims, namely, three boys and one girl. According to the police, the immigrants were victims of traffickers who had hastily pushed them into the boat and had forced them to quickly set off to Italy to avoid being caught by the Greek authorities. In a state of panic, the ill-fated people had gathered in one part of the boat and, shortly after it had sailed away from the coast, it had turned and they had all fallen into the water. The weather in the area is nice and the sea is calm, therefore, the authorities believe that the imbalance of the weight was the reason for the tragedy.
    The survivors have not yet told the coast guard how the accident had happened. The police believe that the immigrants are refugees from Syria. A large-scale operation to search and apprehend the traffickers is underway in the region. The boat, by which the immigrants had sailed and which had turned had probably been stolen. Traffickers used this part of Greece before, as there are many deserted coves in the area.
    The Syrian survivors are currently in the hospitals in Lefkada and Preveza to undergo the necessary medical examinations.