Footage published on Monday revealed more inhumane treatment of irregular migrants at the hands of the Greek coast guard amid numerous reports of migrant pushbacks to Turkish territorial waters. In some cases, the pushbacks endangered the passengers' lives.

In footage captured by Turkish security forces' drones, Greek coast guards can be seen abandoning migrants on a rubber boat in the middle of the Aegean Sea.

A ship belonging to the Greek coast guard transferred the migrants into the rubber boat and left them at sea east of the Greek island of Leros, which is about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) from Turkey’s southern Aegean coast.

It was reported that Turkish coast guard teams rescued the migrants, who were on the brink of death in the rough conditions of the open sea, and transferred them to shore.

Turkey and Greece have been key transit points for migrants aiming to cross into Europe, fleeing war and persecution to start new lives. Turkey accused Greece of inhumane treatment of migrants, large-scale pushbacks and summary deportations without access to asylum procedures, which is a violation of international law. It also accuses the European Union of turning a blind eye to what it says is a blatant abuse of human rights.

Recent footage published on Friday also revealed that the Greek coast guard tried to sink boats carrying irregular migrants to block them from reaching the EU's borders.

Footage shared by Anadolu Agency (AA) shows several incidences of pushbacks by Greek coast guard teams of boats carrying migrants, including children. The footage shows the inhumane treatment of the migrants by Greek authorities, who try to push migrants back to Turkish territorial waters. While conducting dangerous maneuvers that could cause boats to sink, they also made holes in dinghies with sharp iron sticks. Bullets were also fired near the boats to intimidate the migrants.

The footage also shows that the Turkish Coast Guard Command (ShGK) rescued the migrants, saving their lives, and warned their Greek counterparts that they were violating international law.

Last week, EU lawmakers lashed out at the head of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency's (Frontex), Fabrice Leggeri, over allegations that the agency illegally stopped migrants from entering Europe and supported Greek coast guards in pushing migrants back toward Turkish territorial waters in the Aegean Sea, calling for his resignation and demanding an independent inquiry.

At least six incidents where Frontex units were involved in pushbacks near the islands of Lesbos and Samos between April 28 and Aug. 19 have been documented by international media outlets, mainly by Der Spiegel.

Leggeri said that no evidence of any involvement of Frontex units in pushbacks had been found so far. He said EU member countries have control over operations in their waters, not Frontex, and he called for the rules governing surveillance of Europe's external borders to be clarified.

"We have not found evidence that there was active, direct or indirect participation of Frontex staff or officers deployed by Frontex in pushbacks," he told the lawmakers. When it comes to operations, Leggeri said, "only the host member state authorities can decide what has to be done."

Pushbacks are considered contrary to international refugee protection agreements, which say people shouldn't be expelled or returned to a country where their life or safety might be in danger due to their race, religion, nationality or membership in a social or political group.

In October, nearly 30 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) called on Greece to open an "urgent inquiry" into allegations that it was systematically pushing migrants back toward Turkey.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Greece of summarily returning migrants across Turkish land and sea borders, citing interviews with asylum-seekers. Other rights groups and refugee organizations, including the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have repeatedly called on Greece to investigate what they say are credible reports and testimony of expulsions.

The Turkish coast guard said it rescued over 300 migrants "pushed back by Greek elements to Turkish waters" in September alone.