Kids among drowned

A smuggling boat has sunk off a Greek island, killing at least 16 migrants including children.

A search and rescue operation is under way to find two others missing.

The wooden boat was believed to have been carrying around 21 people when it sank for reasons that were not immediately clear off the coast of the eastern Aegean island of Agathonisi, the Greek coastguard said.

Three people – two women and one man – managed to swim to the island and alert authorities.

A massive search operation involving aircraft, the Greek navy and coast guard and a vessel from the European border agency Frontex was under way last night.