ATHENS (AA): At least seven refugees, including an elderly woman and two young children drowned when at least three boats capsized off Greek islands Wednesday, Greek Coast Guard said.

In the first incident, an elderly woman, a five-year-old boy and a two-year-old girl drowned off Samos island. In the on-going rescue operation, the Coast Guard are said to be looking for a missing young man.

In another boat tragedy, three people, including a man in his early 20s and two young children aged around one drowned near Samos.

Separately, in another incident off Agios Konstantinos, a five-year-old girl was pulled out dead from the sea while authorities continued to search for two more missing adults.

The Coast Guard also claimed that it rescued 242 people when a boat sank north of Lesvos island. Two young boys and a man were also reportedly dead in the incident.

Lesvos, which lies less than 10 kilometres from the Turkish coast in the north Aegean Sea, is the primary target of the thousands of refugees that have been fleeing to Greece this year.

According to Frontex, more than 500,000 refugees and migrants have entered Greece through its islands in 2015; which has caused Greek authorities to face one of the biggest humanitarian crises.