202 Migrants Rescued off the Coast of Greece in Two Days, Most of Them Bangladeshis

❐ BD Digest Desk

Greece’s border and coast guard agency Frontex has rescued more than 200 illegal immigrants from the country’s coast in the space of a few hours. Most of the rescued people are citizens of Bangladesh and Sudan, as well as some Egyptians.

Citing the Greek media outlet ‘Democracy’, the Middle East Monitor reported that the entry of illegal immigrants into the southern Greek island of Crete is not stopping.

At least 202 migrants have arrived on the island of Crete in less than 48 hours after setting off from the Libyan coast, putting pressure on the island’s authorities and migrant reception centers.

According to Demokratia, Frontex discovered a boat carrying 40 migrants southeast of the Ierapetra region on Thursday morning (August 6) local time.

Immediately after receiving this news, the Greek Coast Guard launched a joint rescue operation with the assistance of a fishing trawler and the migrants were taken to the port of Ierapetra, where their identification is currently underway.

Hours earlier, Greek authorities rescued another 112 migrants from two separate boats. The group included 72 Bangladeshis, 31 Sudanese and 9 Egyptians.

All the rescued migrants were later transferred to a temporary accommodation center in the port of Heraklion, which is now being used as a temporary shelter as the influx of migrants to the island continues to increase.

In a separate statement, Greek authorities said they had arrested a 16-year-old South Sudanese teenager on charges of smuggling 50 migrants.

He was captured during a rescue operation about 28.5 nautical miles southwest of Ierapetra.

Citing rescued migrants, it was learned that the accused teenager was smuggling them from the Libyan city of Tobruk to Greece, taking between 1,500 and 2,000 US dollars from each.