The Greek Coastguard says two over-packed boats carrying migrants have capsized, killing 22 people while seven are missing.  This happened in the Aegean Sea off of the island of Samos, an area where hundreds have died this year attempting to cross the sea from Africa to asylum in Europe.

“Most of those who drowned were trapped inside one of the boats, in the cabin and elsewhere,” a Greek coast guard official said.  Authorities said they had rescued 36 people and recovered the bodies of the others.  They had attempted to cross from North Africa to Greece in a 10-meter yacht and a lifeboat.

The chaos left after the “Arab Spring” led to huge numbers of migrants leaving the troubled Middle East and North Africa to journey to Libya, where smugglers pack them on to rickety boats to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to possible asylum in Europe.  Thousands have crossed, hundreds have died.  Southern European countries – particularly Greece, Italy, Spain, and Malta – have repeatedly called on their northern EU partners to pitch in with more help.