Another flight from Greece has brought more than 100 refugees to Germany, around half of them sick children and their close relatives as well as unaccompanied minors. This brings to over 1,000 the number of people Germany has taken in since April.
In the latest relocation flight from Greece to Germany, 104 recognized refugees from Greek Aegean islands arrived in the German city of Hanover on Thursday (October 22).
According to an online statement by the German interior ministry from Thursday, among the people on board the flight were 27 unaccompanied minors and 17 sick children and their core families.
These refugees are the second group to arrive of a total of 1,553 additional migrants the German government agreed to take in from Greece in the wake of the fire that devastated the notorious Moria migrant camp in early September.
The first arrival took place last Friday (October 16) when a plane brought 26 recognized refugee families to Hanover. The group of 101 people was made up of 61 children and 40 adults.
The 1,553 refugees had received protection status in Greece earlier.
European pledge
In March, the German government had already committed in March to bring 243 sick children and their families to Germany from Greece.
This commitment was part of a pledge by 13 European countries to take in about 1,600 vulnerable migrants from overcrowded camps in Greece.
The latest arrival for this relocation scheme took place on September 30, when 51 unaccompanied children arrived in Hanover airport, together with 17 sick refugee children and their families. In total, 139 migrants arrived that day.
According to the Interior Ministry, Germany had agreed to take in an additional 150 of the 400 unaccompanied minors who were transferred to mainland Greece after the Moria blaze.
Since April, a total of 1,009 migrants have arrived in Germany from Greece.
With dpa, KNA, AFP