According to Greek authorities, a lady migrant was found dead after gunfire erupted as she and others attempted to enter Greece by boat from Turkey.

According to authorities, the event occurred late Saturday on the Evros River, some 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of Alexandroupolis, Greece.

The woman is thought to have been on board a boat carrying migrants that refused to turn around despite warnings from the Greek side.

“Last night a group of 10 people was found trying to cross into Greek territory by boat from the area of Soufli,” a police spokesman in the region of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace told AFP.

“The Greek police signaled for them to stop but they did not obey. Shots were heard from the Turkish side. Greek border guards fired into the air to protect themselves,” the spokesman said.

“Greek border guards found four migrant men swimming ashore and a woman floating in the water who appeared to have been shot in the back around chest level”, said the spokesman.

An investigation has been opened into the incident.

There was no immediate comment on the incident from the Turkish side.

The state-run Ert television channel reported that the woman was from Africa and her wound indicated that she was shot with a gun not normally used by the Greek border police, suggesting that she may have been shot by her smuggler.

According to a statement released by the Greek police on Sunday, those recovered, including a toddler, told authorities that they had paid 2,000 euros ($2,160) each to smugglers in Istanbul to transport them to Athens.

For migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East seeking a better life in the European Union, Greece is frequently their first choice.

After a huge number of migrants attempted to cross the Evros River from Turkey in March 2020, Greece beefed-up border patrols and installed cameras, radar, and a 40-kilometer (25-mile) steel fence with a height of over five metres (16 feet) in an area where shootings are usual.