Athens. The Greek authorities rescued this Saturday, in two separate incidents, some 60 migrants who were trying to cross from Turkey to the islands of the Aegean Sea in inflatable rafts.
In recent weeks, Greece has seen an increase in such arrivals, mostly in small precarious boats provided by smugglers.
A patrol sighted 41 people early Saturday morning in an inflatable raft drifting off the island of Lesbos, the coast guard said. They rescued all of them and took them to a reception center on the island.
Separately, a patrol chased a raft with 17 people on board near the Aegean islets of Arkii. They were taken to the island of Patmos and one of them was arrested on suspicion of being part of a smuggling gang.
On Friday night, another boat with 17 migrants was found adrift near the island of Samos. One of the migrants required medical attention, while the rest were taken to a staging center on Samos.
Greek authorities attribute the rise in arrivals mainly to conflicts in Africa clogging main migration routes to Europe, as well as the rise of a black market in Turkey producing low-quality inflatable rafts. Another factor has been the good conditions for navigation during the boreal summer.
The Greek government says it has not changed its policy of interdicting boats at sea, which has significantly reduced migrant arrivals in recent years.
Human rights groups have accused Greece of summarily deporting to Turkey people who have managed to reach its shores, but Athens strongly denies this.
