Greek coast guard pick up dozens of migrants off Karpathos island

The Greek coast guard said in an online press release that the migrants’ boat was found “in a difficult position” off the Greek coast. As part of the operation, three men were arrested as suspected smugglers, Greek state radio reported making reference to the coast guard.

According to the press release, the 71 migrants were discovered on board a sailboat around 28 kilometers off the Greek island of Karpathos in the Aegean Sea. The island is located between Crete and Rhodes.

The group was presumably on their way to Italy from Turkey, news agency dpa reported.

The 71 migrants were brought to a camp for registration on the island of Kos, according to the coast guard, which is located around 100 kilometers north of Karpathos.

Meanwhile, an additional 27 people were saved from a boat off the coast of the island of Rhodes, according to dpa.

Uptick in smuggling activities

People smugglers routinely bring migrants on dangerous sea journeys from Turkey and North African countries to the EU member states Greece, Cyprus and Italy.

In a bid to avoid coast guard patrols, smugglers increasingly resort to entering open, international waters in larger boats now. In the process, shipwrecks and related accidents may happen more often.

A total of 48 people have died in the Eastern Mediterranean this year through July 18, according to IOM figures. The number of unreported cases is assumed to be far higher. The figure for the Central Mediterranean, considered the world’s deadliest migration route, currently stands at 1,768.

In mid-June, up to 600 people died when a completely overcrowded fishing boat sank about 90 kilometers off the southern Greek coast. It was the deadliest shipwreck in the Mediterranean in years.

Some 105,000 refugees and migrants have arrived so far this year in the EU’s Mediterranean countries Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus, according to UN data.

with dpa