<div style="text-align: justify; "><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Three migrants were found dead off the Greek island of Mykonos on Friday after their boat capsized and up to 12 others missing, the Greek coastguard said.</b></span><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The nationality of the victims, according to preliminary reports two women&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">and a man, has not been confirmed by Greek authorities.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">The coastguard is searching by ground, air and sea for up to others whom&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">survivors said were missing after the boat overturned.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Witnesses said up to 17 people had been on the same boat, including five&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">women and a seven-year-old child. Two men, a Palestinian and a Syrian, were&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">rescued by the coastguard.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">For several months, migrants have sought to reach Italy from Turkey through&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Greece's southeast Cyclades islands which attract thousands of visitors each&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">summer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Non-profit groups say the new route is designed to avoid the northern Aegean&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">Sea, where witnesses accuse Greek authorities of stepping up illegal&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">pushbacks, accusations that Athens has long rejected.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Footage published by The New York Times on May 19 reportedly showed the&nbsp;<span style="font-size: 1rem;">forceful expulsion of a group of migrants, including a baby, being bundled&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">into a van and then transferred to an inflatable raft and set adrift.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">Interviewed by CNN, former prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said his&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">government would investigate the incident and called such pushbacks&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify; ">"completely unacceptable". AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify; "><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>