Dozens of migrants rescued south of Crete

[Handout/Hellenic Coast Guard]

Dozens of migrants person been rescued from a small vessel successful trouble south of Crete that had crossed implicit from northbound Africa, authorities said Wednesday.

A Coast Guard statement said 59 men were recovered by a patrol vessel from the European Union’s Frontex borderline bureau connected the boat, some 17 miles southwest of Ierapetra connected southern Crete. They were taken to the metropolis of Iraklio.

The vessel had acceptable disconnected from Tobruk successful eastbound Libya, where the migrants had arranged their transition with smugglers.

While agelong and perilous, the way from Libya to Greece’s southern land of Crete has go 1 of the main ways for migrants seeking a amended beingness successful the EU to scope the continent. This is mostly owed to instability successful Libya and tighter controls on the maritime borderline with Turkey successful the eastbound Aegean Sea, which for years provided the shortest and easiest entree to Greece by sea.

Wednesday’s Coast Guard statement said that 5 migrants believed to person crossed from the adjacent Turkish seashore were recovered connected Easter Saturday connected the islet of Psara disconnected Chios successful the eastbound Aegean.

So acold this year astir 2,300 radical person reached Crete from Libya, much than fractional the total 4,500 migrants who entered the state by sea. Including crossings of the northeastern onshore borderline with Turkey, astir 6,200 migrants person entered Greece illegally since January 1.