At least 44 people died, including 20 children, when two boats travelling from Turkey to Greece sank early on Friday. Coast guard officials said dozens of refugees are missing after the boats went down in the Aegean Sea, AFP reported. One boat sank off Kalolimnos and the other off the island of Farmakonisi.

The International Organisation of Migration said at least 113 people have died in the Aegean Sea in the new year, while trying to flee the Middle East. BBC said over a million refugees entered Europe illegally in 2015, and more than 700 died trying to cross the Aegean Sea. More than 30,000 refugees have crossed over to Greece this month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel will soon be meeting Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Berlin to discuss the ongoing refugee crisis.