DHAKA: A total of 42 migrants are reported to have drowned overnight in two separate shipwrecks in the Aegean Sea near Greece.

One boat went down off the coast of the small Greek islet of Kalolimnos, killing 34 people, including 11 children. Another eight people died after a boat sank off the island of Farmakonisi, reports the BBC.

The Greek coastguard said it had rescued 26 people from the sinking of the wooden sailboat off Kalolimnos, but that it had recovered 34 bodies - 16 women, 11 children and seven men.

It was not known how many people were on the boat, but some estimates said up to 100, and a search is continuing for more survivors.

The boat off Farmakonisi was carrying 48 people. Forty made it to shore and one girl was rescued, but the bodies of six children and one woman were found.

Over a million migrants arrived in Europe last year. More than 700 died in the Aegean crossing from Turkey to Greece.

BDST: 1958 HRS, JAN 22, 2016
BD/SR