A group of 56 migrants was rescued by a tanker in the Eastern Mediterranean this weekend. More and more people are trying to travel from Turkey to Italy, often running into trouble off the western coast of Greece.
The group was rescued on Saturday (October 1) after their vessel got into trouble near the eastern Greek island of Kefalonia.
A rescue operation was launched by the Hellenic Coast Guard after the boat -- which was bound for Italy -- had been spotted around 33 nautical miles southwest of Kefalonia in the Greek search and rescue area, according to the coast guard.
Coast guards said that all the migrants on board were rescued by a passing tanker, the "GINGA HAWK", under the flag of Singapore. All passengers were in good health, according to a statement released by the Hellenic Coast Guard.
The rescued migrants disembarked in the port of Igoumenitsa on Sunday afternoon, according to a report from Greek broadcaster ERT. It reported that Afghan, Syrian, Kurdish and Turkish citizens were among those rescued, and that the group included eight young children.
Attempted border crossings remain on the rise
Over the course of the summer, thousands of migrants have tried to enter Europe via Greece’s sea and land borders.
There have been increased reports of migrant boats attempting to reach Italy from Turkey to circumvent alleged Greek coast guard pushbacks, leading to an increase of arrivals and rescue operations on the western Greek coast -- halfway between Turkey and Italy.
Greek officials announced last month that as part of new, increased security measures, they plan to boost Greece's border patrol force with extra boats and aircraft for its coast guard in the eastern Aegean Sea, as well as new electronic monitoring devices.
Athens also has plans to extend the border fence along the northeastern land border with Turkey.
Greece has already built a 40-kilometer fence in the area of the Evros River, also known as Maritsa and Meriç, along the northeastern land border. The government plans to extend the fence by 220 kilometers.