Update Jan. 28, 5:57 p.m. EST

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The Greek coast guard recovered the bodies of at least 12 dead migrants off the coast of the island of Samos Thursday, including eight children, according to AFP.

A still unidentified man believed to be one of the survivors swam to the shore and alerted the authorities. Nine have been recovered alive, according to Reuters. "We are not sure if the nine rescued were among the 45 or if they were on a different boat," a coastguard official said in the report.

Of the twelve dead, eight were reported to be children. The number is also separate from the seven dead bodies, two of whom are children, recovered by the Greeks the previous day from a boat that sank off the island of Kos, NDTV reported.

The recent drowning incidents off the Greek coast highlights the country's difficult position as the gateway to Europe. It is torn between the need to help out in the massive migrant crisis with its duty to enforce strict border control. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has lamented that the Aegean is washing up blood of dead children and Europe fails to address the problem, HNGN previously reported. Greece, on the other hand, has come under fire from European governments for its alleged deficiencies in enforcing external border control.

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