Athens, Greece — Greek patrol boats in the eastern Aegean Sea carried out rescues of nearly 80 migrants attempting to cross from Turkey in inflatable dinghies in two separate incidents on Monday. These actions come as the number of perilous journeys like these continues to rise.
During the weekend, the coast guard also intervened to rescue around 200 individuals who had departed from Turkey on similar boats, arranged by smugglers, with the intent of reaching Greece’s nearby eastern Aegean islands.
In one of the incidents on Monday, 40 migrants were saved from a drifting dinghy off the coast of Lesbos island. Shortly thereafter, another 36 individuals were rescued from a different frail vessel in the same vicinity. All 76 migrants were transported to a local reception center.
The year 2022 has seen more than 14,000 people arriving in Greece by both land and sea, according to United Nations data. This number represents about a tenth of the total successful Mediterranean crossings, with the majority (around 104,000) heading to Italy. The total arrivals in Greece for the entirety of 2022 amounted to 19,000. Many of these individuals come from the Middle East and Africa, seeking better opportunities within the European Union.
Greek authorities attribute the surge in migrant crossings to favorable summer sailing weather and smugglers capitalizing on the heightened small boat traffic in the Aegean during the tourist season.
Despite this increase, Miltiadis Varvitsiotis, Greek minister for the merchant marine, asserts that the overall migration situation remains under control. Following the peak of Europe’s migration crisis in 2015, during which almost a million people entered Greece with hopes of moving onward to more prosperous countries in Europe, the country reinforced patrols near the eastern islands adjacent to Turkey in order to curb arrivals.
