A Hellenic Coast Guard patrol vessel rescued 41 migrants late last night from a boat in distress in the waters off southern Crete, the latest in a series of rescues that has brought hundreds of people ashore on the island in recent days.
The group, 40 men and one woman, were traveling on a dinghy about 21 nautical miles southeast of Kaloi Limenes, a small port on Crete’s southern coast, when the alert reached the coast guard. They were brought to Kaloi Limenes and then moved to Heraklion, Crete’s largest city, under escort.
The rescue caps an intense 48 hours along the sea route south of Crete. On June 9, a coast guard operation rescued 192 people, among them 142 men, eight women and 42 minors, from a stricken fishing boat roughly 40 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes. A Frontex aircraft, operated by the European Union’s border and coast guard agency, located the vessel, and two patrol boats, a lifeboat and three passing ships took part in the rescue. The group was taken to Kaloi Limenes and then by bus to Heraklion.
On June 9, a coast guard operation rescued 192 people, from a fishing boat roughly 40 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes. Hellenic coastguard
A day earlier, on June 8, the coast guard rescued 130 people, 126 men, two women and two minors, from two dinghies in waters south of Kaloi Limenes. A Frontex vessel brought them to the port before they were transferred to Heraklion. On the morning of June 9, a lifeboat rescued a further 48 people, 39 men, two women and seven minors, from a dinghy about 40 nautical miles south of Kaloi Limenes.
The cluster of arrivals points to a marked rise in migratory pressure on Crete, and on Kaloi Limenes in particular, in recent days. The small southern port has become a frequent landing point for boats crossing from North Africa, and the coast guard says it remains on constant operational readiness as arrivals in the waters south of the island climb.
