File photo. [AP]
Two consecutive migrant search-and-rescue operations were carried out early Friday in the sea area south of the island Gavdos, the EU’s southernmost point, with an estimated 131 people rescued from three boats, according to authorities.
In the first operation, coordinated by the Hellenic Coast Guard’s Joint Search and Rescue Coordination Center (EKSED), a drone operated by the EU border agency Frontex spotted a boat carrying an estimated 43 migrants, about 20 nautical miles south of Gavdos.
A Frontex vessel was deployed and rescued the passengers, who were taken to the port of Paleochora.
A few hours later, a second operation was launched in the same wider maritime area after a Frontex drone detected two more boats carrying an estimated 88 people in total. A Frontex vessel again responded, rescuing the passengers and transferring them to Paleochora. [AMNA]
