Cyprus rescues 60 Syrian migrants off its shores
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Cypriot authorities announced on Wednesday the rescue of 60 Syrian migrants from a small boat off the country’s shores after several days of being reported missing.
The Cypriot authorities stated, “A commercial vessel reported spotting a small wooden fishing boat approximately 30 nautical miles off Cape Greco, the southeastern most point of Cyprus. As a result of the report, rescue helicopters and patrol vessels were dispatched.”
They further added that all the Syrian migrants boarding the boat, totaling 60, including three children, were saved.
The Cyprus Joint Rescue Coordination Center stated that all the migrants were transported to hospitals, including four people who were found unconscious and three who had sustained lower limb fractures.
A day before, parents from Deir ez-Zor Governorate in eastern Syria, whose children went missing in Cyprus’ territorial waters, appealed to the Cypriot government to disclose the fate of their loved ones.
Officials from Cyprus stated that all the boat’s passengers were Syrians, who had departed from Lebanon on Jan. 18, and all of them were suffering from dehydration.