111 migrants perched on cliff brought to safety — Greek coast guard

The migrants reportedly disembarked a sailing boat on a rocky cliff in Cape Malea, which is part of the Peloponnese area of southern mainland Greece. The boat later sank, according to a coast guard statement posted on Twitter on July 11, detailing the rescue operation.

The Shipping Ministry told the Greek newspaper Ekathimerini that “adverse weather conditions” had prevented the coast guard from helping the migrants at sea, but supplies were brought to them until they could be reached by onshore units, which helped bring the migrants to safety on July 10.

The group is made up of 46 men, 19 women and 46 children, according to the coast guard.

Five of the migrants were reportedly still under medical supervision in the evening of July 11. Two men were later arrested by the Greek police on suspicion of migrant trafficking.

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‘You are safe’

In a video posted to YouTube, the voices of two members of the Greek coast guard can be heard reassuring the migrants and telling them that “you are safe,” and explaining that they are from the Greek coast guard. Another man’s voice tells the group, who are struggling to see by the light of their phones, that “you have to wait two hours my friend.”

Later in the video, the migrants can be seen sitting on chairs near a small church, being handed out cups of water. It is once again daylight.

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Boat later sank, investigation ongoing

According to the coast guard report, the Greek coast guard was informed in the evening of July 9 that there were a “sufficient number of foreigners disembarking in the area [near the Malea lighthouse in Lakonia.”

The coast guard says it sent four patrol boats towards the spot where they found a white sailing boat near the cliffs and the 111 passengers disembarked and perched on the steep rocks not far from the boat.

The group, states the press release, was transferred to temporary accommodation in the Neapolis Voion area. The migrants were given medical examinations, and at that point, five of the group were transferred to a health center and nursing unit in Sparta, where they remain.

By Monday evening, the Maritime Border Protection Directorate had apprehended a 25-year-old and a 27-year-old, suspected of having trafficked the rest of the group. Greek authorities have arrested them and have charged them while conducting an investigation. While the investigation was being carried out, the boat sank. There is not yet any information regarding the nationalities present in the group, or where they initially set off from.

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