AP, Athens :Authorities rescued several hundred migrants from the Aegean Sea off eastern Greek islands in relatively calm waters on Saturday, also reporting the death of a toddler.The boy, aged 2-3 years, was found off the coast of Lesbos fully clothed, including boots, and wearing an orange life jacket, the Greek coast guard said in a statement.A coast guard spokeswoman, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press, that there were no reports of a missing child from today’s migrant arrivals or rescues.”Until we identify the boy, we cannot exclude anything,” she said, leaving open the possibility that the child may have drowned before Saturday.Earlier, Greek authorities had reported that Saturday was the first time in 11 days that no migrant had been reported dead in the Aegean, largely because of favorable weather.Even with favorable seas, Greece’s coast guard and European Union border agency Frontex rescued a total of 429 migrants in seven separate rescue operations, authorities said. One of the boats was “in a difficult situation” while two others were “rudderless.”As people flee conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, European countries are struggling to cope with the heavy flow and hostility from anti-migrant groups. Many EU members have been reluctant to take in significant numbers of migrants.German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined in her weekly video message the need for “a fairer distribution (of refugees) in Europe.”Germany has seen 758,000 asylum-seekers arrive between January and October this year and this has resulted in a political backlash for Merkel.Meanwhile, a planned refugee shelter was burned down in Sweden on Saturday with police saying the fire may have been started deliberately, the latest in a string of suspected arson cases targeting a huge influx of migrants.”Several buildings were burnt, including one which witnesses say has been destroyed completely,” police said in a statement.”For the moment the cause of the fire is not certain but as there are reasons to suspect it may have been started deliberately, a preliminary arson inquiry has been opened”.The planned shelter, on the outskirts of the town of Floda in southwest Sweden, had yet to welcome its first residents. There were no injuries and there have been no arrests.
