Greece transfers around 500 migrants to a ferry after dramatic rescue operation

Greece’s coastguard on Thursday said nearly 500 asylum seekers rescued in a dramatic operation this week off the island of Crete had been temporarily transferred to a ferry for processing.

The migrants – including 128 boys and nine girls – were on board a derelict fishing boat that issued a distress call late on Monday whilst sailing southwest of Crete.

Because of bolstered patrols by the Greek coastguard and EU border agency Frontex in the Aegean Sea, migrant smugglers embark increasingly on a longer and more perilous route south of Crete, Greek officials say.

The group of 483 includes Syrians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Palestinians and Sudanese, a coastguard spokeswoman told AFP.