Greek authorities south of Crete have rescued a total 240 migrants within a few hours who ran into trouble trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea from north Africa to the southern Greek island.
More than one in two undocumented migrants entering Greece now follow the roughly 36-hour Mediterranean passage, while the east Aegean Sea islands – once the main destination for people making the short crossing in small smugglers’ boats from the nearby Turkish littoral – have fallen in popularity.
In four of the five rescues Wednesday and late Tuesday the migrant vessels were spotted by crewed aircraft, or drones, operated by the European Union’s Frontex border agency.
Two boats carrying a total 93 people were located up to 51 nautical miles southeast of Crete, and Coast Guard vessels were carrying them to shore. Earlier, three boats carrying 32, 69 and 46 people were spotted south of the island and their passengers picked up.
So far this year more than 10,000 people from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa have reached Crete from eastern Libya – despite efforts by the Greek government to talk Libyan officials into stemming the flow.
