(AP)

At least 16 people died after a migrant boat capsized in the Aegean Sea late Friday, bringing the three-day death toll from such shipwrecks in Greek waters to at least 30.

The deadly accidents came as smugglers who arrange sea crossings for Europe-bound asylum-seekers increasingly favor a perilous route from Turkey to Italy, avoiding Greece’s heavily patrolled eastern Aegean islands that were a prime destination for years.

The Greek coast guard said Saturday that 63 people were rescued after a sailboat capsized late Friday some 8 kilometers (5 miles) off the island of Paros, in the central Aegean. The coast guard reported 13 deaths as of late Friday, but three more bodies were found early Saturday.

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Survivors told the coast guard that about 80 people had been on the vessel. The boat was towed to a nearby port, and authorities said the search for survivors and victims continued.

Earlier, 11 people were confirmed dead after a sailboat struck a rocky islet some 235 kilometers (145 miles) south of Athens, near the island of Antikythera, on Thursday. The coast guard said Friday that 90 survivors ‒ 52 men, 11 women and 27 children ‒ were rescued after spending hours on the islet.