483 migrants who were rescued south of Crete Island (Greece) on Tuesday, November 22, were transferred onto a passenger ferry.
The rescue operation was made available by the Greek authorities in Port Palaiochora (Chania) while awaiting registration, the Greek Coast Guard revealed.
Those onboard were 336 men, 10 women, and 137 minors. Most are Syrian, Egyptian, Pakistani, Sudanese, and Palestinian nationals.
Due to adverse meteorological conditions, on Wednesday, November 23, the migrants had to get off Samaria boat due to rain/strong winds.
Rescue operations from the 30-m-long fishing boat on which the migrants had been sailing happened on Tuesday morning ~15 NM/nautical miles from Crete’s southern coast when the Hellenic Coast Guard received the request for help.
The fishing boat had been taking on water because of the bad weather conditions.
A couple of Italian-flagged fishing boats assisted in the operation and one of the 2 towed the fishing boat with the migrants onboard to Palaiochora, accompanied by the other boats.
Following the rescue, Greek minister Notis Mitarakis sent a letter to Margaritis Schinas (European Union deputy commissioner) and Ylva Johansson (Commissioner for Home Affairs), requesting the migrants' relocation in other European countries.