MUNICH, Sept 13 : German authorities warned on Sunday they were stretched to the limit trying to cope with a surge of refugee arrivals, as tragedy struck at sea again with 28 more migrants -- half of them babies and children -- drowning off the coast of Greece.
Four babies and 10 young children were among the 112 people onboard a stricken boat when it sank in the Aegean Sea, Athens News Agency reported.
The coastguard was searching for four more missing children, as Athens angrily defended its handling of the crisis following criticisms.
Local authorities in Germany, which has earned praise for its welcoming stance towards refugees, were meanwhile buckling under the sudden surge of arrivals.
Some 13,015 refugees arrived in Munich on Saturday alone, and at least 1,400 are expected Sunday to reach the southern German city -- the end of their exhausting and often perilous journey through Hungary and Austria.
Europe's biggest economy has become the destination of choice for many refugees, particularly for Syrians after Chancellor Angela Merkel decided to relax asylum rules for citizens of the war-torn country.
"Given the numbers from yesterday, it is very clear that we have reached the upper limit of our capacity," said a Munich police spokesman.
Federal transport minister Alexander Dobrindt also said "effective measures are necessary now to stop the influx".
"That includes help for countries from where refugees are fleeing and also includes an effective control of our own borders which also no longer works given the EU's complete failure to protect its external borders," he said in a statement. Dobrindt was essentially referring to the border between Turkey and Greece, where many migrants have crossed.
Merkel herself had called on Saturday on Athens, which facing its own deep economic crisis, to make more effort to protect the EU's external borders.
Meanwhile, Austrian authorities said they were expecting another wave of migrants and refugees coming over the border from Hungary on Sunday, after a brief lull in arrivals gave them a chance to re-stock reception centres.
Austria struggled last week to cope with thousands of people entering its territory, almost all of them on their way to Germany.
The train link to Hungary has been closed since Thursday in a bid to stem the flow. ? REUTERS