Ten people, including children, have died after four boats sank off Greek islands in the eastern Aegean Sea. Hours earlier the Greek coastguard had rescued 242 people from a sinking boat in the area. Thousands have been arriving on the island of Lesbos every day after making the dangerous journey from Turkey.

Meanwhile, many are still using the perilous route from the Libyan coast – Italian authorities say 1,042 people were rescued in the area on Wednesday. Seven separate rescue operations were carried out on Wednesday morning, Italian media reports say. British, Irish, German and Slovenian naval vessels also took part in the rescues off Libya, the AGI agency reported.

The vessels are acting as part of the EU’s EUNavfor operation.  More than 30 people are still missing from one of the sinkings, of a wooden boat, in the waters off Lesbos, Greek officials say. Images from the rescue on Wednesday showed emergency workers attempting to revive unconscious children once they had been brought to Lesbos.

The UN estimates more than 700,000 migrants have crossed to Europe by boat so far this year – many of them from war-ravaged Syria. The approach of winter has so far done little to slow the flow.