ATHENS: Nearly 540 migrants crammed on a sailing boat were rescued on Friday south of the island of Crete, the Greek Coast
Guard said.
The 539 would-be asylum seekers were rescued by a patrol vessel of EU border agency Frontex near the small island of Gavdos in the Libyan Sea, a Coast Guard spokeswoman said.
So far, the Coast Guard has recorded nationals from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan, and the Palestinian territories aboard the boat, the spokeswoman said.
BACKGROUND
The 539 would-be asylum seekers will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno.
They will first be taken to the Cretan city of Rethymno, she added.
Under standard EU procedure, all will undergo health checks before having their asylum claims processed.
The port they had sailed out from was not immediately clear, the spokeswoman said.
Migrants have been trying to reach Crete from Libya for the last year, as a way of entering the EU.
