EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GREECE-KOS RESCUE Greek coastguards rescue migrants

Record ID: 143954

  • Title: EUROPE-MIGRANTS/GREECE-KOS RESCUE Greek coastguards rescue migrants
  • Date: 14th August 2015
  • Summary: KOS, GREECE (AUGUST 14, 2015) (REUTERS) POLICE OFFICER ON QUAYSIDE WATCHING MIGRANTS LEAVING COASTGUARD VESSEL COASTGUARD VESSEL AT QUAYSIDE VARIOUS OF MIGRANTS LEAVING VESSEL (SOUNDBITE) (English) NAHMAEULLA, REFUGEE FROM AFGHANISTAN, SAYING: "Five hours in the water.. my motor was not working, twenty five maybe fifty minutes is a ship, another ship is coming, police, Ita
  • Embargoed: 29th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Greece
  • Country: Greece
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAA3IS0H9510HME5S5Y146180YC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A Greek coastguard vessel combed the waters off the island of Kos on Friday (August 14) and returned to shore with scores of migrants making the crossing from Turkey in a fleet of small - often inflatable - boats.
    Police stood watch on the quayside of the small island's port as the vessel docked and relieved migrants walked onto dry land.
    One man from Afghanistan told in halting English how he was pulled aboard by police after the motor of the craft he was in failed.
    Another from Nigeria was simply grateful to Greece to be rescued.
    "They came to rescue us, the Greece people, the Greece government came to rescue us from the boat," said Jules.
    Officials processed paperwork for the migrants before they moved off the dockside to be temporarily homed on the island while authorities decide their eventual destination.
    The Turkey-Greece route is a thriving business for smugglers profiting from the stream of people fleeing war and poverty. Traffickers in Turkey are getting help shepherding growing numbers of Syrians to Greece, thanks to Syrian accomplices, migrants said.
    The influx - 140,000 this year including 50,000 in July alone according to the International Rescue Committee, mainly from Syria - is overwhelming a nation in economic crisis.
    In Kos, within sight of Turkish shores, officials estimate there are 7,000 migrants out of a population, excluding tourists, of around 30,000.
    Scuffles broke out earlier this week in the Kos sports stadium, where police have forced many of the migrants to camp out while they wait to be officially registered with Greek authorities. The crowds, including many infants, waited with little food and water under a scorching sun.
    The Greek government, unprepared for the sudden spike in arrivals in Kos, said it was sending a ship with a capacity of at least 2,500 people to the island. The vessel, due to arrive on Friday, could be used to house migrants.
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