At least five migrants have drowned off the coast of Greece after their small plastic boat capsized.

The five victims, four women and one child, were found early this morning near the Greek island of Samos, close to the Turkish coast.

A coast guard spokeswoman said there were also five survivors: two women, two men and a child.

The survivors told authorities that eleven people in total were aboard the three and half metre boat.

The tragedy occurred a day after 150 migrants were deported to Turkey from the Greek island of Lesbos. That was the second round of returns under an EU/ Turkey deal which is an attempt to stem the mass migration into Europe.

The first groups of people were returned to Turkey earlier this week following the implementation of the controversial deal. The deportations have sparked protests in Greece.

The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) and human rights groups have said the accord may violate international law.

Currently, more than 22,000 refugee and migrant children are stranded in Greece.

Meanwhile, it is reported that asylum requests in Germany have dropped by two-thirds in just one month.

The latest figures show that 20,000 people applied to live there in March - down from 60,000 in February.