Gavdos: 46 people rescued south of the island

A search and rescue operation was completed in the early hours of Wednesday 19 August in the sea area south of Gavdos. According to the report by Politica.gr, citing the port authorities, 46 foreign nationals travelling in a boat were located and picked up at a distance of 39 nautical miles south-south-east of the island. The vessel was initially spotted by an unmanned aircraft of the European agency Frontex, which alerted the Greek authorities. A private vessel sailing in the area also assisted in the operation, a common practice in search and rescue incidents on the open sea, where every ship has an obligation to assist.

Those rescued were transported safely to the port of Agia Galini, in the prefecture of Rethymno, where the prescribed reception, medical screening and registration procedures are being followed. The choice of Agia Galini rather than a port closer to Gavdos relates to the infrastructure required to manage a large number of people, since the small island does not have the capacity to accommodate dozens of people. No injuries or missing persons were reported, nor any health problems requiring immediate transfer to hospital. Nor did the nationality of those on board become known, nor the port from which the boat had departed. The reception procedures include registration of personal details, a first health check and the provision of water, food and essential items before transfer to an accommodation facility.

The sea area south of Crete has in recent years developed into an active route, with Gavdos, the southernmost point of Europe, on the front line. The distances are long and operations frequently require the assistance of aircraft for the initial detection, since the boats are small and hard to make out from surface vessels. Only a few dozen people live permanently on the island and its infrastructure is limited, which makes the transfer of those rescued to Crete necessary. Local authorities have repeatedly asked for the resources available in the area to be reinforced. The distance of 39 nautical miles corresponds to roughly 72 kilometres, which makes the transfer time-consuming even for a fast patrol boat.

It has not been announced whether a case file for people smuggling was opened, nor whether anyone alleged to have been steering the boat was identified, a matter that is as a rule examined after the reception process has been completed. Identification and registration procedures are carried out by the competent services and the individuals are then sent on to accommodation facilities. The Hellenic Coast Guard is continuing its patrols in the sea area south of Crete, in cooperation with Frontex assets. Similar rescue incidents have been recorded repeatedly over the course of the summer, with the ports of southern Crete serving as reception points.