The coast guard took the migrants on a fishing boat to the island of Gavdos near Crete. This month, a boat was discovered in the region with 17 dead, mostly from Egypt or Sudan.
The Greek coast guard rescued 131 migrants off Crete on Saturday. According to the police spokesman, the number of people rescued at sea in the past five days has increased to 840. TASR informs about this according to the report of the AFP agency.
The migrants on the fishing boat were rescued on Saturday morning about 14 nautical miles south of the island of Gavdos, near Crete. All passengers of the ship were subsequently transferred to Gavdos by the coast guard. The authorities did not state the nationality of the migrants. AFP notes that many people are trying to get to Crete from Libya.
This month, the coast guard found a boat off the coast of Crete with 17 dead migrants – mostly from Egypt or Sudan. Only two crew members survived and 15 other people are missing. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees says more than 16,770 people have arrived in Crete since the start of this year trying to reach European countries.
In July, the Greek government suspended asylum procedures for three months, especially for people arriving from Libya. The government described this measure as “absolutely necessary” in view of the growing influx of migrants.
