EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GREECE-KOS MORNING Migrants reunited with family members on Greek island

Record ID: 143162

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GREECE-KOS MORNING Migrants reunited with family members on Greek island
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: KOS, GREECE (AUGUST 20, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS ON DINGHY SEEN SAILING IN SEA DINGHY ARRIVING TO BEACH IN KOS TOWN / MIGRANTS CHEERING ON DINGHY MIGRANTS JUMPING OUT OF DINGHY INTO WATER VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS WALKING OUT OF WATER MAN CARRYING BOAT MOTOR MIGRANTS HUGGING EACH OTHER MAN HUGGING WOMAN WHILE ANOTHER MIGRANTS PRAYING ON EMBANKMENT NEXT TO BEACH MIGRAN
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA671PRHNGTBCS84BEBPQZUMFE5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT WAS SENT ON THURSDAY AUGUST 20, 2015
    Migrants continue to arrive on the Greek island of Kos, many of them being reunited with friends and family who had previously made the journey, as the crisis continues to grow.
    In the early morning hours of Thursday (August 20) morning, an overcrowded dinghy carrying around 50 people, mainly families and young men from Syria, finally arrived on the beach in Kos.
    The arrival in Greece was met with jubilation by those on board, and many of those waiting for them on the beach.
    Several more boats arrived within an hour. Hundreds of asylum seekers arrive in Kos on a daily basis.
    On top of its economic crisis, cash-strapped Greece has been battling a huge influx in migrants arriving by boat from neighbouring Turkey in recent weeks. About 21,000 people landed on Greek shores last week alone, prompting Athens to appeal to the European Union for help.
    The number of arrivals in Greece last week was equal to almost half the number for all of 2014 and brings the total for this year to 160,000.
    Many of the arrivals have escaped the Syrian civil war, making their way through Turkey before crossing the narrow stretch of water to Kos and other Greek islands in inflatable dinghies and small boats to seek refuge in the European Union.
    The Greek Red Cross said it was delivering humanitarian aid worth 300,000 Swiss francs ($310,000) to people on Kos. So far some 300-400 migrants had been given survival kits and packages for infants and women.
    Nearly 250,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, and at least 2,349 have died making the journey, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says.
    Meanwhile, migrants kept arriving from the Turkish mainland, which lies within sight of Kos.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register