Two would-be migrants, an adult man and a girl, were found dead on Saturday morning on a beach of the southeastern Aegean island of Rhodes, Greek Coastguard told AFP.
The pair, believed to have drowned, was found on the Mavros Kavos beach by coast guard officers, who also located three more new arrivals alive.
According to the local Rodiaki news site, the victims been aboard a smuggler鈥檚 inflatable boat which abandoned its passengers a short distance from the coast and returned to open water.
The two set off from the coast of Turkey along with ten other people, who managed to reach the beach, it added.
In addition, 38 migrants were found by the Greek police in the nearby Gennadi area of Rhodes.
All 41 survivors are being transferred to the island鈥檚 port authority while the bodies were carried to Rhodes鈥� General Hospital, the Greek coastguard said.
Greece鈥檚 proximity to North Africa and the Middle East has long placed the country at the heart of perilous migration routes to Europe for people escaping conflict, persecution and poverty.
The government has declared a three-month suspension on asylum requests from any persons arriving by sea from North Africa.
The Greek migration ministry has also prepared legislation enabling migrant detention for up to two years for illegal entry, and up to five years if subsequently caught staying in Greece illegally.
