--- description: Authorities on the island declared this week that the cemetery is full title: Greek Island Running Out Of Space To Bury Dead Migrants image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18e7247c59919216/69886fbc524fc02184df5565/par8321049.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Greek Island Running Out Of Space To Bury Dead Migrants  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2015 1:33 PM CUT  A piece of marble reading 'Unidentified' is placed over the grave of a person who drowned on the way from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, at a makeshift cemetery in Mytiline, on the Geek island of Lesbos, on Nov. 4, 2015. A piece of marble reading 'Unidentified' is placed over the grave of a person who drowned on the way from Turkey to the Greek island of Lesbos, at a makeshift cemetery in Mytiline, on the Geek island of Lesbos, on Nov. 4, 2015.Aris Messinis—AFP/Getty Images  by [Tessa Berenson](/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Nov 5, 2015 1:33 PM CUT The Greek island of Lesbos, a key gateway into Europe for refugees, is running out of space to bury those who die on the treacherous journey. Authorities on the island declared this week that the cemetery is full, [AFP reports](http://news.yahoo.com/greek-refugee-island-running-space-bury-dead-083159964.html "undefined"), so bodies are beginning to be stored in a large refrigerated container. A solution may be years away: “It could take 2-3 years” to release a property near the hospital that could be used as a graveyard, a local bishop told Mega Channel, according to AFP. Lesbos’ mayor said he will talk about the issue with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tspiras on Thursday. Almost 500 migrants have died crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey this year. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4101268/lesbos-dead-migrants-space/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4101268/lesbos-dead-migrants-space/"},"headline":"Greek Island Running Out Of Space To Bury Dead Migrants","datePublished":"2015-11-05T13:33:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T12:22:21.896Z","description":"Authorities on the island declared this week that the cemetery is full","url":"https://time.com/4101268/lesbos-dead-migrants-space/","keywords":["Greece","migrants","migration"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18e7247c59919216/69886fbc524fc02184df5565/par8321049.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Tessa Berenson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt18e7247c59919216/69886fbc524fc02184df5565/par8321049.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Lesbos migrants graves","caption":"Lesbos migrants graves","creditText":"Aris Messinis—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4101268/lesbos-dead-migrants-space/","name":"Greek Island Running Out Of Space To Bury Dead Migrants"}}]}] ```