The Greek Coast Guard rescued a total of 96 migrants from a sinking yacht found west of the small island of Halki, near Rhodes. It was not immediately clear how many people were on board, what had caused the sinking, where the yacht started its journey, or what its destination was.
Authorities were alerted after one of the passengers aboard made an emergency call late Tuesday. “Four coastguard patrol boats, a rescue boat, a naval vessel, five cargo ships sailing in the area and an air force helicopter took part in the operation,” according to a statement from the Ministry of the Merchant Navy. The coast guard described the effort as “one of the largest and most successful search and rescue operations to have taken place in the Aegean Sea” noting that it was conducted at night and that many of those rescued, which included several children, were not wearing life jackets.
Of those rescued, 72 people were transported to the nearby island of Rhodes, five to Karpathos, and 19 were picked up by the Turkish coast guard. Those taken to Greek islands were then tested for the coronavirus and put up in quarantine hotels.
The incident comes amid rising tensions between Athens and Ankara over maritime exploration rights in the eastern Mediterranean. Greek authorities said that its operation was hampered by Turkish interference after two patrol vessels arrived during the search efforts after most of the people had already been rescued. They said that the Turkish ships did not notify the rescue operation coordinator about their presence, did not contribute to the effort, and insisted on “calling on nearby ships in the area to depart”. Turkey released its own statement about a rescue effort following a distress call off the coast of Datca and said that the 19 people it rescued were taken to the port of Bodrum. There was also no immediate response from the Turkish coast guard to the accusations.
Thousands of people continue to make their way to the Greek islands from the Turkish coast, often paying smugglers to ferry them in unsafe and overcrowded dinghies or other vessels. Greek officials said that there had been at least 25 such incidents in the last three months, where migrants were bypassing the country to reach Italy. The Greek coast guard added that it had repeatedly informed Turkish authorities about the issue, but had received no response.
Greek Coast Guard Rescues 96 Migrants From Sinking Yacht
The vessel was found west of the small island of Halki, near Rhodes.
August 27, 2020
SOURCE: EURONEWS