Athens Macedonian News Agency: News in English, 14-04-10
CONTENTS
[01] Migrants rescued off Crete number 345, including 47 children
[01] Migrants rescued off Crete number 345, including 47 children
ANA/MPA - The undocumented migrants found Sunday evening on a boat off
Crete have been housed at the Aghia Exhibition Centre in the city of
Chania as of Tuesday.
Authorities registering the migrants said there were 345 in total,
including 47 children and 2 babies, while most of them said they came
from Syria or Egypt. According to Chania port cief Diogenis Darivianakis,
the traffickers are believed to be among the migrants but have not been
identified yet.
The undocumented migrants were initially taken on board the tanker
"Olympic Faith" that arrived early on Tuesday in the sea region of
Paleohora. However, due to the large size of the vessel it was impossible
to dock in Paleohora port and the authorities decided to use three
fishing boats and a Coast Guard vessel for their disembarkment. After
the completion of the rescue operation, the undocumented migrants were
transferred by bus to Hania in order to be indentified.
All migrants were given food and water. Many were examined by doctors,
with ten being taken to hospital with sprains and wounds on their legs,
while another three migrants had been transferred to hospital immediately
after their landing. Two of the children were also taken to hospital
for preventative reasons.
The facilities include mattresses, chemical toilets and heaters, while
efforts are made to transfer all of them to hotels as soon as possible,
the deputy Chania district chief Apostolos Voulgarakis said. The
facilities will be guarded round the clock by Greek Police and Port
Authority staff, while only authorised personnel will be allowed entry.
Local authorities met in the morning to decide what to do further and to
ensure needed food and supplies are provided for as long as the migrants
remain in Chania.
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