4 infants drown as refugee boat sinks in heavy seas off Greek island

Published November 01, 2015

Refugees and migrants abort their effort on a dingy as they set out, trying to travel from the Turkish coast to the Greek island of Chios, near Cesme, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. (AP Photo/Emre Tazegul) (The Associated Press)

Four infants, two children and five women drowned Sunday on the dangerous crossing from Turkey to Greece after a small plastic boat carrying nearly 30 refugees sank in heavy seas near the eastern island of Samos.

Most of the victims were trapped in the cabin, Reuters reported.

A Greek Coast Guard spokeswoman confirmed the 11 victims who drowned included four babies.

Fifteen other passengers were rescued after the boat sank. There's an ongoing search for "one or two missing," the spokeswoman said.

All but one of the victims were retrieved from the sunken 20-foot plastic boat, which lies in waters 10 feet deep just yards off the Greek island's rocky coast.

Winds of up to 31 mph have been hitting the area.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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