The Greek coast guard says it has temporarily transferred the nearly 500 migrants it rescued in a dramatic operation this week to a ferry for processing. The migrants, picked up off the island of Crete, had reportedly set sail from Libya. Seven of them have reportedly been arrested for alleged migrant smuggling.
Around 500 migrants on board a rusty fishing vessel adrift in the Mediterranean Sea have been successfully towed to port. The Hellenic Coast Guard says a major rescue operation was launched following a distress call.
Greek authorities said Tuesday that a search and rescue operation was underway in rough waters off the island of Crete. They are reportedly looking for as many as 500 migrants.
The Greek coast guard has released a video showing officers trying to stop a speedboat apparently operated by a smuggler in the Aegean Sea.
The death toll from a shipwreck in the Aegean last week has risen to 26, Greek authorities say. Three more bodies were discovered off the port of Karystos on Saturday.
Searches continue, but the Greek coast guard said that hope was running out for dozens of migrants reported missing, after the overcrowded sailing boat they were traveling on capsized and sank in the Aegean sea.
Greek police have arrested three Greek nationals and six foreigners in a migrant smuggling crackdown. The suspected smugglers had been bringing migrants from Turkey across the Evros River to Greece for months, charging thousands of dollars per individual.
A sailboat carrying dozens of migrants has been towed to safety, the Greek coast guard said. Overnight, the vessel sent a distress signal after getting caught in rough waters off mainland Greece.
Turkish officials say they have rescued another 67 migrants in Aegean waters. The migrants were pushed back by Greek forces patrolling the waters, Turkish authorities claim. Greece denies being involved in pushbacks.
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.
Migrant charity Aegean Boat Report claims that the Greek coast guard has pushed back scores of migrants in a rubber boat off the island of Rhodes. A video posted by the NGO allegedly shows masked men redirecting the rubber boat as people can be heard shouting in distress.
Five children and a woman have reportedly drowned in the Aegean Sea, while five people remain missing. Turkish authorities have accused Greek officials of pushing the migrants back towards Turkey.