Migrants rescued south of Crete walk after their arrival at the port of Lavrio, on Thursday. [Petros Giannakouris/AP]
Authorities on Crete said Sunday that another 27 migrants have reached the island’s southern shores after making the long and dangerous journey from north Africa.
The Coast Guard said one of the migrants required hospitalization for an unspecified condition. The 26 men and one woman were found Saturday on the beach of Psari Forada near Kali Limenes.
One of them, a 21-year-old Sudanese national, was arrested on suspicion of steering the vessel and belonging to a migrant-smuggling ring that arranged the trip from Tobruk in eastern Libya. The Coast Guard said the vessel had departed Libya late on Tuesday.
Crete has emerged as a key destination on a migrant smuggling route form Libya to Europe. More than 300 people have arrived there so far this year, according to United Nations data.
On Friday, a group of 43 migrants, mostly minors, was rescued from a small boat south of Crete.