Video images capture the moment a boat jam packed full of migrants approaches a beach in Greece full of tourists. Shocked sunbathers could only look on in amazement as the migrants leapt over the side of the boat and ran ashore before dispersing.
The incident reportedly happened on Sunday at the Diskos beach in the south of Crete and was just one of many involving migrant arrivals. Greek’s coastguard said they had been called out numerous times over the weekend to rescue migrants stranded in boats.
A large-scale rescue operation was launched on Sunday to help 430 people, who were found floating adrift on the sea 25 nautical miles south of Gavdos, Greece’s southernmost island.
In a separate incident, the European Union’s Frontex border agency rescued 96 migrants on board two boats off Crete.
They were taken to the island, where local authorities are now processing them and providing humanitarian assistance.
Another 73 asylum seekers were picked up from a cargo ship flying the Portuguese flag near Kali Limenes beach in Crete.
Local media on the island also reported migrants disembarking in coastal areas of Heraklion.
Many of those rescued came from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia – according to the authorities.
Greece is seeing a surge in migrant arrivals, particularly from Libya as people flee war zones and poverty.
This year already 7,300 asylum seekers have made it across the Mediterranean to Gavdos and Crete, compared to fewer than 5,000 in 2024.
Last year just over 56,000 migrants arrived in Greece via the Eastern Mediterranean Route, according to the Mediterranean Migration and Asylum Policy Hub. This figure represents an increase of 10,000 compared to 2023.
Greece’s Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis met with the Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar to discuss ways to stem the flow of migrants.
He said: “We will continue our undisturbed relationship… and we hope that in the near future we will have tangible results for the progress of our relations.”
Last month Athens also said it would deploy two frigates near Libyan territorial waters to help stem the flow.
