Rescue operation near Mykonos, 8 people missing

On Sunday morning, the Greek Coast Guard received a signal about the crash of a sailboat with migrants near Mykonos.

The ship was coming from Turkey, there were 112 people on board. As of last night, eight people are known to be missing.

Notis Mitarakis, the Minister of Immigration and Asylum, said 104 people were rescued during the operation, with eight more missing. Among the rescued – 21 children, 24 women and 63 men. The minister drew the attention of the Turkish authorities to the smuggling of immigrants into Greece and therefore into Europe.

According to newsbeast.gr with reference to OPEN, the sailboat, apparently, followed to Italy. However, the path was not easy – in the area where the ship was wrecked, the wind strength reached 7 points on the Beaufort scale, and there were no lifeboats on the sailboat. Among the rescued migrants there are wounded.

Three port patrol boats, floating craft and a tugboat from Mykonos were involved in the rescue operation. From the first moment, the Minister of Shipping and Insular Policy, Mr. Yiannis Plakiotakis, was informed, who gave the order to immediately mobilize all necessary funds to save the foreigners. In his statement, he noted:

“Once again, the Coast Guard has saved lives that the ruthless human trafficking schemes put in mortal danger without even taking basic protective measures. I congratulate everyone on the work done in particularly difficult conditions. Greece strongly defends its borders, but its top priority is always the protection of human life.”