23. November 2014 · Kommentare deaktiviert für 300 Boat-people von Türkisch-Zypern gerettet · Kategorien: Griechenland, Türkei · Tags:

Anadolu Agency

Hundreds of migrants stranded off Cyprus coast rescued

One of the survivors told AA each migrant paid about $6,500 to human smugglers to escape the war in Syria in the hopes to reach Europe

GIRNE, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

Turkish-Cypriot coast guards rescued Sunday hundreds of migrants who got stranded on a vessel that broke down near the Northern Cyprus‘ coast, an official statement said.

The 50-meter-long vessel, Haj Zaher, carried an estimated 300 migrants, including around 40 women, one of whom was said to be pregnant and 35 children.

The vessel was adorned with a Tanzanian flag and broke down 4.5 miles away from the port city of Girne in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

According to a statement released by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, coast guards launched the rescue mission Saturday and successfully rescued all the stranded migrants. The survivors were shifted to a sports hall in Girne city.

Ahmad Suruf, one of the survivors, told The Anadolu Agency each migrant had paid about $6,500 to human traffickers to escape the civil war in Syria. The smugglers had promised the migrants they would end up at a European destination.

„We were stranded in the middle of the sea without food and water for four days. The ones whom we paid money promised to carry us to Italy,“ Suruf said.

The rescue operation, which was launched Saturday, got hampered by poor weather conditions early Sunday morning, before the migrants were eventually rescued.

The vessel, which departed from Turkey’s southern province of Mersin, had narrowly avoided hitting a rocky area near Northern Cyprus‘ coast, an official added.

www.aa.com.tr/en

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