ATHENS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- At least two people died on Wednesday after a boat carrying refugees and migrants sank off Greece's Lesvos island, Greek national broadcaster ERT reported.

       The victims were young people of African origin, according to early information from Coast Guard sources.

       Some of the 16 survivors told authorities that there were initially 36 people on board the boat, which departed from Turkish shores. The vessel crashed onto rocks while approaching the Greek island in the early hours, amid strong winds reaching up to nine on the Beaufort scale in the area.

       A rescue operation and police investigation got underway to determine whether the yet-to-be-determined number of missing individuals ended up in the sea or sought refuge in the surrounding mountains.

       Since 2015, millions of people fleeing warzones or extreme poverty have risked their lives and have been exploited by human smuggling networks to illegally enter Europe. Thousands have lost their lives in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea in the past eight years.