The Hellenic Coast Guard (Limenarchio) has identified 437 Bangladeshi nationals among the 539 migrants rescued from a fishing vessel off the coast of Gavdos, south of Crete.
The migrants were found during a Greek search operation some 16 nautical miles (29.6 km) off Gavdos on Friday, reports Reuters.
They are all well and are being taken to a temporary facility on the nearby island of Crete after reaching the port of Agia Galini, a Coast Guard official said, adding 437 migrants from Bangladesh, 34 from Egypt, 46 from Pakistan, 12 from Eritrea (including 4 women and 2 children), 5 from Somalia and others from Sudan, Yemen, and Palestine.
Following emergency discussions, officials decided that 300 migrants will be relocated on Monday, while the remaining individuals are scheduled for transfer next week.
When contacted regarding the incident, Bangladeshi Ambassador to Greece Nahida Rahman Shumona stated that the embassy has not yet been formally notified of the situation by Greek authorities.
In a separate incident on Thursday, the EU’s border agency Frontex rescued 65 men and five women from two migrant boats in distress off Gavdos, the Greek Coast Guard said.
Greece was on the front line of a 2015-16 migration crisis when more than a million people from the Middle East and Africa landed on its shores before moving on to other European countries, mainly Germany.
Flows have ebbed since then, but both Crete and Gavdos – the two Mediterranean islands nearest to the African coast – have seen a steep rise in migrant boats, mainly from Libya, reaching their shores over the past year and deadly accidents remain common along that route.
Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy will be eligible for help in dealing with migratory pressures under a new EU mechanism when the bloc’s pact on migration and asylum enters into force in mid-2026.
The centre-right government of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said deportation of rejected asylum seekers will be a priority.
