Illegal African Migrants Entering Europe Through Greece Intercepted, 131 People Detained

Illustration. An Irish ship rescues migrants adrift in the ocean in 2015. (Irish Defence Forces-Wikipedia Commons)

JAKARTA - A Greek coast guard ship operating off the coast of Crete rescued 131 would-be illegal migrants on Saturday morning local time.

Citing AFP, hundreds of migrants were rescued from a fishing boat about 14 nautical miles south of Gavdos, a small island south of Crete.

The migrants whose citizenship has not yet been identified were taken to Gavdos.

This is the fifth rescue operation out of five operations in recent times in the area.

Thus, a total of 840 migrant workers have been successfully rescued by the Greek authorities.

Many people from Libya try to find their luck out of the country through the island of Crete but many drown during the risky crossing.

In early December, 17 illegal migrant workers - mostly Sudanese or Egyptians - were found dead after their boat sank off the coast of Crete, and 15 others were reported missing. Only two people survived.

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 16,770 people trying to reach Europe have arrived on the island of Crete since the beginning of the year, more than on any other Greek island.

In July 2025, the conservative government suspended processing asylum applications for three months, particularly for those coming from Libya, saying the move was "absolutely necessary" in the face of the increasing flow of migrants.