Syrian family drowns off Lesvos island as refugee boat sinks

A family from Syria has drowned on Wednesday after the capsize of a boat carrying refugees from Turkey to Greece off the coasts of Lesvos island, local authorities said.

A girl, 4 years old, and her brother, 3, with their parents drowned during their efforts to reach Lesvos' shores, a Greek Coast Guard officer speaking on condition of anonymity, told Xinhua.

The IDs found in a bag belonging to the family showed that they were from Aleppo, the Greek officer said.

A wide search and rescue operation to locate the refugees and migrants missing was underway.

The polyester motorized boat in which the people were traveling sank and competent services did not receive any distress signal, according to a Greek Ministry of Shipping press release.

A Coast Guard officer who participated in the operation told Xinhua "we didn't see their boat. We saw people swimming."

Greek Navy and Greek Coast Guard vessels have rescued so far six people -- a woman and five men, all of them Kurdish, except a Palestinian.

According to the survivors, there are still three people missing, among them their trafficker.

All the survivors and the family's corpses have been transferred to the Hospital of Lesvos.

Greek Coast Guard sources noted that weather conditions in the area were good and the winds of 4 Beaufort cannot justify the shipwreck. The Greek officers believe that most likely the boat was very old, or overloaded. Endit