Dozens of migrants were seen in shocking footage leaping off a boat and running onto a beach in front of tourists on a Greek holiday island.
Greek authorities have rescued more than 500 migrants off the country’s southern islands of Crete and Gavdos in five separate maritime incidents since Friday, according to a statement released Sunday by the Greek Coast Guard.
In one clip, recorded on Sunday morning at Diskos beach in the south of Crete, a group of asylum seekers were seen crammed in to a small boat as it bobbed near the shoreline.
They were then filmed clambering off the vessel and jumping into the water while tourists and local families sunbathed nearby.
But this was not the only incident of its kind to take place over the weekend. The Greek coastguard revealed Sunday it carried out several rescue operations in the area.
The most significant operation occurred on Sunday, when more than 430 migrants were found adrift 25 nautical miles south of Gavdos, Greece’s southernmost island.
The large-scale rescue operation was conducted by Greek authorities, responding to increased sea arrivals from northeastern Libya, a key departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe.
In a separate incident, also on Sunday, the European Union’s Frontex border agency rescued 96 migrants on board two boats off Crete, the coastguard said.
The migrants are now being taken to Crete, Greece’s largest and most populous island.
According to local reports, just a few hours prior, another 67 refugees were spotted near Gavdos embarking from a ship flying the Marshall Islands flag.
The group were then transferred to the port of Paleochora in Chania, a city on the northwest coast of Crete.
Another rescue operation also took place over the weekend near Kala Limeni, Heraklion, Crete. There, 73 asylum seekers were picked up from a cargo ship flying the Portuguese flag before they were transported to the nearest port.
Two more incidents of disembarkation were recorded in coastal areas of Heraklion which saw 96 people located on Loutra beach, and another 67 in the Lentas area, according to Protothema.
According to the coastguard, 7,300 asylum seekers have reached Gavdos and Crete this year, compared to fewer than 5,000 last year.
Over 2,500 arrivals have been recorded since June alone.
With Gavdos lacking any significant accommodation facilities, all the migrants are either housed in municipal buildings or transferred to Crete.
The rescued migrants, according to authorities, include nationals from the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, particularly from war-torn regions, Egypt, and Bangladesh.
These rescues highlight the continued use of dangerous sea routes by migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in search of safety and opportunity in Europe.
Sea arrivals via the eastern Mediterranean, particularly from Libya, have surged in recent months, raising concerns among European nations over border security and humanitarian responsibilities.
The concerning levels of sea arrivals prompted a visit by Greece’s foreign minister George Gerapetritis to eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar on Sunday.
‘We will continue our undisturbed relationship… and we hope that in the near future we will have tangible results for the progress of our relations,’ Gerapetritis was quoted by his ministry as saying after meeting Haftar.
Last month Athens also said it would deploy two frigates near Libyan territorial waters to help stem the flow.
It urged Libya to cooperate more closely with Greece and the EU to stop migrants sailing from there or turn them back before they exit Libyan territorial waters.
Gerapetritis is now scheduled to hold talks with the UN-recognised government in Tripoli on July 15.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis also raised the issue with EU counterparts in Brussels last month.
Mitsotakis has announced that two Greek navy ships will be deployed outside Libyan waters to stem the flow.
The North African country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 NATO-backed revolt that toppled and killed longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.