Greece: Gales stall efforts to find missing migrants

By THANASSIS STAVRAKIS and SRDJAN NEDELJKOVIC
Associated Press

KYTHIRA, Greece (AP) — Officials say strong winds are hampering efforts around two Greek islands to find at least 10 migrants believed to be missing after back-to-back shipwrecks left 23 people dead. A dinghy and a sailboat sank in separate incidents off the islands of Lesbos and Kythira late Wednesday and early Thursday. The latter’s sinking prompted a dramatic nighttime rescue, with island residents hauling survivors up cliffs to safety. Coast guard, navy and volunteer rescuers focused Friday around a rugged cove where the sailboat smashed into rocks. Lesbos is not far from Turkey and Kythira is located south of the Greek mainland. Greece’s prime minister blamed Turkey for failing to stop boats crammed with migrants from leaving its shores.