106 illegal migrants found on Kos Island by the Greek coast guard
Athens [Greece]: The Greek coast guard said on Sunday that 106 illegal migrants were found having reached the Greek island of Kos in the southeastern Aegean Sea after their boat sank.
The coast guard carried out a search and rescue operation on Saturday night after being informed that a half-sunken sailboat had been detected northwest of Kos, close to a cliff. When coast guards arrived, 106 people from the boat — including 72 men, 14 women, and 20 children — had already reached ashore.
None of the sailboat’s passengers went missing. The migrants appeared to be of various nationalities; all of them have been transported to the Kos identification centre, the agency added.
Migrants have been arriving in Greece en mass, mainly from the Turkish territory, for years. Athens accuses Ankara of exploiting migrants as political leverage in a decades-long territorial dispute between the countries, while Ankara says Athens violates international humanitarian law and applies force against migrants and refugees.