A Hellenic Coast Guard vessel detected and rescued 42 third country nationals off a rock islet near the eastern Aegean island of Lesvos early Saturday morning, the latest migrant smuggling effort to clandestinely bring people from Turkey to Greek/EU territory.
The group of would-be migrants were safely transported from the islet of Barbalias to the island’s main port of Mytilene and then transferred to a reception and quarantine center at the Kara Tepe site.
No information was given on the nationalities, ages and gender of the foreign nationals.
In a separate incident, another 25 foreign nationals aboard a migrant boat off the island of Gavdos, which is located south of Crete in the Libya sea.
This group of undocumented migrants was transferred by a coast guard unit to Crete and the city of Hania.
In yet a third instance, a decrepit vessel carrying another 112 foreign nationals was spotted south of Crete, with the coast guard again transporting the irregular migrants to the large island.
