Karlovasi

The search and rescue operation in the area northwest of Samos, near the bay of Agios Isidoros, is in full swing for the second day, aiming to locate survivors after the capsizing of a boat in the area.

A group of 42 undocumented migrants have joined thousands of others on Samos after reaching the eastern Aegean islands on an inflatable dinghy from neighboring Turkey on Sunday.

No details were available about the ethnic origin of the migrants.

The Greek coast guard on Sunday rescued 49 migrants on a rubber dinghy off the eastern Aegean island of Samos.

All migrants were safely transferred to the port of Karlovasi on Samos.

Their nationality was not immediately known.

On this luxuriantly green island on the northeastern edge of the Aegean, covered by pine forests, olive groves, citrus groves and vineyards, myth and history take on a special allure. This was the birthplace of the goddess Hera, Zeus’ wife; of Aristarchos, the celebrated astrophysicist who first expounded the theory of the earth’s rotation; and of the great mathematician Pythagoras.

Thousands of dead fish that washed up on the beach at Karlovasi on the northern Aegean island of Samos last Friday were still there on Monday, despite the smell.

An investigation launched by the Greek coast guard was under way in order to determine whether the fish had been poisoned or killed as a result of illegal fishing practices.