A total 134 migrants in two boats who had crossed the Mediterranean Sea from north Africa were rescued Friday after running into trouble off the southern island of Crete.
A Coast Guard vessel picked 86 people off a boat some 13 nautical miles off the southeastern coastal town of Ierapetra, while earlier a passing Turkish-flagged merchant ship rescued 48 people 31 miles south of the islet of Gavdos, south of Crete.
On Thursday, about 170 people were rescued from three boats south of Crete after departing eastern Libya.
Crete has become the main entry point for undocumented migrants from the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent and Africa trying to reach Greece in pursuit of a better life deeper inside Europe’s prosperous heartland.
More than 20,000 people have arrived in Greece so far this year, just over half of whom landed on Crete.
