South of Crete, a merchant ship rescued 38 migrants who were in distress while attempting to reach the Greek island from North Africa. This was reported by Ekathimerini, citing state television ERT, writes UNN.
Details
The migrants were discovered approximately 17 nautical miles south of Chrysi Island after a search and rescue operation coordinated by the Hellenic Coast Guard. The rescue was carried out by a Liberian-flagged tanker.
The rescued individuals are planned to be transported to the port of Ierapetra in southeastern Crete.
Crete as a new migration route
The incident occurred amid a growing flow of migrants to Crete, which is increasingly being used as an entry point to Europe for people from the Middle East and Africa.
32 migrants rescued off the coast of Italy, at least 71 more people died at sea06.04.26, 01:35
According to the UN, almost 2,500 people have arrived on the island since the beginning of the year, having departed from eastern Libya in small boats provided by smugglers. This accounts for about half of all sea arrivals to Greece since the beginning of the year.
At the same time, this route is considered longer and more dangerous than the traditional route from Turkey to the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.
Overall situation
In total, about 6,700 migrants have illegally entered Greece this year.
Greek authorities report that they have sent Coast Guard representatives to Libya for negotiations with local authorities to limit illegal migration flows.
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