Migrant found dead after shooting at Greece-Turkey border

A woman migrant has been found dead after a shooting erupted as she and others tried to cross into Greece from Turkey by boat, Greek police told AFP on Sunday (18 April).

The incident occurred late on Saturday on the Evros River, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) northeast of the Greek city of Alexandroupolis, police said.

The woman was believed to have been aboard a boat carrying migrants who ignored the Greek side's warnings to turn around.

"Last night, a group of 10 people were found trying to cross into Greek territory by boat from the area of Soufli," a police spokesman in the region of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace told AFP.

"The Greek police signalled for them to stop, but they did not obey. Shots were heard from the Turkish side. Greek border guards fired into the air to protect themselves," the spokesman said.

"Greek border guards found four migrant men swimming ashore and a woman floating in the water who appeared to have been shot in the back around chest level", said the spokesman.

An investigation has been opened into the incident.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Turkish side.

The state-run Ert television channel reported that the woman was from Africa and her wound indicated that she was shot with a gun not normally used by the Greek border police, suggesting that her smuggler may have shot her.

Those rescued, with a child among them, told the authorities, according to a statement from the Greek police on Sunday, that they had paid €2,000 each to smugglers in Istanbul to carry them to Athens.

Greece is often the country of choice for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to reach a better life in the European Union.

After large numbers of migrants tried to cross the Evros River from Turkey in March 2020, Greece bolstered border patrols and installed cameras, radar and a 40-kilometre (25-mile) steel fence over five metres (16 feet) high in the area where shooting incidents are not uncommon.