Increased activity was recorded on Saturday (19/7/2025) in the waters around Crete, as five separate migrant rescue operations took place. The total migrant arrivals on the island reached 250, creating challenges for local authorities in meeting the immediate needs of those rescued.
Rescue of 31 people off Gavdos
On Saturday afternoon, a Coast Guard rescue vessel located and rescued 31 migrants in the sea area off Gavdos. The rescued individuals were transferred to a patrol boat and taken to the port of Chora Sfakion. From there, they were transported by bus first to Souda and finally to the Agia exhibition center in Chania for overnight accommodation.
Earlier on Saturday, 42 foreign nationals aboard a dinghy were spotted 50 nautical miles south of Kali Limenes. A Singapore-flagged commercial container ship undertook their rescue and transport to Kali Limenes. After their arrival, the migrants will be taken to a temporary accommodation facility in Heraklion.
Accommodation and care for the rescued
Similarly, the 58 migrants found in Trypiti on Saturday morning will ultimately be accommodated in Agia, despite initial plans for direct transfer to Attica. Local authorities are racing against time to adequately feed and care for the rescued individuals, which appears to be successful. Approximately 90 people will be accommodated in Agia today, while 120 people from the existing total of 330 residents from previous rescue incidents are departing tonight on the regular ferry.
Another 110 people will depart tomorrow Sunday by the same method, however today’s new arrivals complicate management at the site, which authorities are seeking to drastically decongest. Meanwhile, local authorities express concerns about a new “wave” of refugee arrivals that the already burdened situation will make difficult to manage.
Plevris on rescue of 174 migrants south of Gavdos: “They will be held in detention”
Meanwhile, regarding the rescue of 174 migrants at Gavdos, Migration and Asylum Minister Thanos Plevris commented via his X account that “the illegal migrants who entered from Libya in recent hours were arrested by the coast guard, have no right to apply for asylum, will not be taken to accommodation centers, but will be held in detention by police until the return procedure is initiated. The migration ministry supports the entire effort and is establishing additional detention spaces in its facilities.”
Οι παράνομοι μετανάστες που εισήλθαν από τη Λιβύη τις τελευταίες ώρες συνελήφθησαν από το λιμενικό,δεν έχουν δικαίωμα υποβολής ασύλου,δεν θα οδηγηθούν σε χώρους φιλοξενίας, αλλά θα κρατηθούν έγκλειστοι από την αστυνομία έως ότου κινηθεί η διαδικασία της επιστροφής τους. Το…
— Θάνος Πλεύρης (@thanosplevris) July 19, 2025
