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On Wednesday, the Greek authorities announced that at least 59 people had been killed, and dozens were feared missing off the coast of southern Greece, after a fishing boat carrying migrants capsized and sank.
A major search and rescue operation has begun in the area. Authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far following the accident, which occurred at night 75 km (46 miles) southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese region.
Four of the survivors were hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia. The Greek coast guard said it was not clear how many passengers might still be missing at sea after 59 bodies were recovered.
Six coast guard ships, a naval frigate, a military transport plane, an Air Force helicopter, several private ships and a drone from the EU Border Protection Agency, frontexwere participating in the ongoing research.
It is believed that the boat bound for Italy set sail from the Tobruk region in eastern Libya. The Italian Coast Guard first alerted Greek authorities and Frontex about the ship’s approach on Tuesday.
In the southern port of Kalamata, dozens of rescued migrants have been taken to protected areas set up by ambulance services and United Nations refugee agency To receive dry clothes and medical attention.
The Libyan authorities launched a major crackdown on migrants earlier this month across eastern Libya. Activists said several thousand migrants, including Egyptians, Syrians, Sudanese and Pakistanis, had been arrested. Libyan authorities deported many Egyptians home through a land crossing point.
In western Libya, authorities have raided migrant centers in the capital, Tripoli, and other towns over the past few weeks. At least 1,800 migrants have been arrested and taken to government-run detention centres, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Smugglers from the Mediterranean are increasingly taking larger boats into international waters off the Greek mainland in a bid to avoid local coast guard patrols.
On Sunday, 90 immigrants were rescued on an American-flagged yacht in the area after they made a distress call.
Separately on Wednesday, a yacht with 81 migrants on board was towed to a port on the southern coast of the Greek island of Crete after authorities received a distress call.
A major search and rescue operation has begun in the area. Authorities said 104 people have been rescued so far following the accident, which occurred at night 75 km (46 miles) southwest of Greece’s southern Peloponnese region.
Four of the survivors were hospitalized with symptoms of hypothermia. The Greek coast guard said it was not clear how many passengers might still be missing at sea after 59 bodies were recovered.
Six coast guard ships, a naval frigate, a military transport plane, an Air Force helicopter, several private ships and a drone from the EU Border Protection Agency, frontexwere participating in the ongoing research.
It is believed that the boat bound for Italy set sail from the Tobruk region in eastern Libya. The Italian Coast Guard first alerted Greek authorities and Frontex about the ship’s approach on Tuesday.
In the southern port of Kalamata, dozens of rescued migrants have been taken to protected areas set up by ambulance services and United Nations refugee agency To receive dry clothes and medical attention.
The Libyan authorities launched a major crackdown on migrants earlier this month across eastern Libya. Activists said several thousand migrants, including Egyptians, Syrians, Sudanese and Pakistanis, had been arrested. Libyan authorities deported many Egyptians home through a land crossing point.
In western Libya, authorities have raided migrant centers in the capital, Tripoli, and other towns over the past few weeks. At least 1,800 migrants have been arrested and taken to government-run detention centres, according to the United Nations refugee agency.
Smugglers from the Mediterranean are increasingly taking larger boats into international waters off the Greek mainland in a bid to avoid local coast guard patrols.
On Sunday, 90 immigrants were rescued on an American-flagged yacht in the area after they made a distress call.
Separately on Wednesday, a yacht with 81 migrants on board was towed to a port on the southern coast of the Greek island of Crete after authorities received a distress call.
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