Four Turkish citizens have been arrested on suspicion of migrant smuggling after a boat with nearly 100 people on board was found in trouble off an island near Athens, Greek authorities said on Friday.
The coast guard said the four were among 97 people on board the boat found northeast of the island of Kea, which lies off the southeast coast of the Greek capital, on Thursday. The remaining passengers were 32 men, 22 women and 39 children, the coast guard said.
The passengers, who were transported to mainland Greece by a coast guard ship, came from Egypt, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Israel and Iraq, the coast guard said. The ship had left Izmir in Turkey and was headed for Italy, and the migrants paid smugglers in Turkey 8,000 euros each for the trip.
BORDER CRISIS: THE NUMBER OF TURKISH MIGRANTS AT THE SOUTH BORDER ALREADY EXCEEDS FY 2021
Greek authorities arrested four Turkish citizens on suspicion of migrant smuggling. The ship of the Turkish citizens was found northeast of the island of Kea, seen here.
(Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Tens of thousands of people fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East, Asia and Africa try to reach the European Union each year via dangerous sea voyages. The vast majority make their way to the eastern Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast in small inflatable boats or try to cross directly into Italy from North Africa and Turkey in larger boats.
