1 migrant dies and 25 are rescued from a sinking dinghy in eastern Greece

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Authorities on the Greek island of Samos said Monday that a migrant died and 25 others were rescued from a sinking dinghy that had left the nearby coast of Turkey.

A search and rescue operation was launched, assisted by the European border protection agency, Frontex, for others possibly missing, officials said.

The coast guard said it responded to a distress call on Sunday. Twenty-three people were rescued from the sinking vessel while two others were pulled from the water. A third man found unresponsive was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Police on a nearby shore found 10 migrants early Monday. They were detained for questioning to determine whether they had also been in the dinghy and made it ashore.

Despite intense patrolling in the eastern Aegean Sea by the Greek coast guard and Frontex, Turkey-based smugglers frequently target nearby Greek islands as an entry point into the European Union.

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The Associated Press