GREECE (Reuters) — Some 68 migrants believed to be of Syrian origin were rescued at sea off the Greek island of Samos in the early hours of Tuesday (February 9), the Italian coast guard said, releasing video of the dramatic rescue operations.
According to the coast guard, a group of some 39 migrants were rescued from a rubber boat which was drifting near rocky cliffs.
The remaining 29, meanwhile, had sought shelter on the cliffs.
The operation to rescue the migrants from the rocks was extremely complex due to poor visibility on the rocky outcrops and the difficulties of reaching the migrants, the coast guard said in a statement.
Rescue divers could be seen approaching the migrants on a dinghy and climbing up the cliffs to reach them.
The migrants were later taken to port on Samos. The group included some 20 children and 20 women, the coast guard said.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday it estimates over 76,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea through the first six weeks of 2016. The daily average of nearly 2,000 arrivals is nearly 10 times the daily average of a year ago.