In a spectacular operation this week off the island of Crete, the Greek coastguard saved approximately 500 asylum seekers, who were temporarily moved to a vessel for processing, according to reports on Thursday. The migrants, which included 128 boys and 9 girls, were travelling on an abandoned fishing boat that made a distress call late on Monday while travelling southwest of Crete.
Greek officials claim that as a result of increased Aegean Sea patrols by Frontex, the EU border agency, and the Greek coastguard, more migrant smugglers are choosing to travel south of Crete, which is a longer and riskier route.
Syrians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Palestinians, and Sudanese are among the 483 people, according to a coastguard spokesman. Due to the large number of people, she continued, “The operation is moving along, but slowly.” “We must also obtain their testimonies,”
A Greek navy frigate was sent after several nearby vessels reacted on Monday, but the near-gale winds made it impossible to save the migrants at sea. The 25-meter (82-foot) fishing boat had to wait for half a day before it could be towed safely to the quaint Cretan coastal town of Palaiochora on Tuesday.
The coastguard announced on Thursday that the asylum seekers had been moved on Wednesday night to a Greek ferry.
