A boat carrying migrants sank near the Greek island of Lesvo this morning, killing eight people including women and children, a local official said.

"A boat containing 19 people crashed into the rocks and sank," Lesvos prefect Pavlos Vogiatzis told Flash Radio.

"Eight of them are dead, the tragedy is that they are women and children. One more person is missing," Vogiatzis said.

The Aegean Sea accident occurred in the northeastern part of the island, he said.

Thousands of would-be migrants and asylum seekers try to cross from Turkey into Greece every year in small boats and inflatable dinghies.

Many of them die in the process but the exact number of deaths is unclear as the bodies are not always recovered.