Athens, Apr 18 (IANS): A woman was killed by gunfire as migrants and refugees were trying to enter Greece throough the Evros river on the northern land border with Turkey, Greek authorities said.

Greek police border guards retrieved the body from the water after five asylum seekers had reached the Greek side by boat, according to a press statement issued by the Citizen Protection Ministry on Sunday.

The Greek border guards were shouting to the group to return to Turkey when gunfire was heard and they also fired in the air, according to the Ministry.

Among the survivors who said that they had paid smugglers in Istanbul 2,000 euros ($2,162) each to enter Greece is a minor, the statement added.

Over a million people fleeing war zones and extreme poverty have reached Greece, mainly from Turkey since 2015, Xinhua news agency reported.

Most continued their journey to other European countries until the closure of the Balkan route in 2016. Although the number of new arrivals dropped in recent years, still thousands every year risk their lives to reach Europe.