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Greek holiday island of Kos is swamped by 1,200 refugees in just two days as desperate Syrians flee ISIS

• Greek authorities have picked up almost 1,200 migrants in just two days off of Kos, Lesvos, Chios and Farmakonissi
• On holiday island of Kos, famed for its cheap holidays, some new arrivals are staying in a deserted hotel
• Some 1,770 migrants have died on the journey to Europe this year, with Greece one of the main destination

By Jenny Stanton for Mailonline and Mario Ledwith for Daily Mail

Almost 1,200 migrants – some crammed onto overcrowded inflatable dinghies – have been picked up by Greek authorities in the eastern Aegean Sea in the past two days.

Packed boats were being towed on to the shores of Kos yesterday, with refugees dropping to their knees to pray after completing the perilous journey.

One woman even stopped to take a selfie on her mobile phone after the boat in which she had travelled was apprehended by coastguards on its way from Turkey.

Boats containing dozens of migrants have also been taken to the Greek islands of Lesbos, Chios and Farmakonisi in recent days.

After Italy, financially crippled Greece is the main destination for refugees, mostly from war-ravaged Syria plus economic migrants seeking a better life in the EU. About 30,000 have already arrived this year.

On the holiday island of Kos, some of the new arrivals – mainly Syrians and Afghans – are staying in a deserted hotel.

Kos, which is only 25 miles long and five miles wide, is of particular concern to the authorities, with many people-trafficking boats able to land without detection.

Despite being under Greek control, most of the Aegean islands are closer to Turkey, with Kos just two miles from Bodrum. Journeys from the port take as little as 20 minutes, with migrants paying smugglers up to 800 euros (£565) each for a place on a boat.

While some traffickers carry out several journeys a day, other migrants land on inflatable dinghies that are discarded on the island’s pristine beaches. A police station built to hold only 36 people has become a refugee camp after more than 200 migrants with nowhere else to sleep were packed in. Dozens settled in the building’s courtyard, living in filthy and cramped conditions.

The influx will fuel fears that Greece could unleash a wave of economic migrants to travel to Britain and the rest of Europe.

Greek politicians have threatened to hand travel papers to vast numbers of people, including 10,000 migrants held in detention centres, in the row over EU austerity measures. The country’s proximity to Turkey, regarded as a key buffer in the fight against Islamic State encroaching into Europe, has prompted concern that jihadis could use the route.

It is also feared that some of the people trafficking gangs are linked to IS, with smuggling fees used to fund the group’s terrorism.

Turkey currently shelters about two million refugees, and thousands of them attempt to cross the borders with Bulgaria and Greece and seek refuge in the EU.

Protective fences have been built in Sofia, Bulgaria, and Ankara, Turkey, to stop the flow of people.

The three countries have long discussed setting up joint police teams to patrol the border.

‚This agreement guarantees closer cooperation of the three countries that face one and the same challenges… migration, organised crime and terrorism,‘ Bulgaria’s interior minister Rumyana Bachvarova said.

The centre will be set up at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint between Bulgaria and Turkey, which also borders Greece, she added.

Turkey’s interior minister Sebahattin Ozturk explained that the centre will allow ‚police and customs authorities to exchange information in real time and react to stop illegal migration and smuggling‘.

So far this year, some 1,770 migrants have died on the hazardous journey to Europe, according to the International Organisation for Migration, a 30-fold increase on the same period in 2014.

EU leaders held a summit in April in a bid to prevent the number of people illegally travelling to Europe from Africa and the Middle East on unsafe boats.

The meeting followed the deaths of around 800 migrants, including children, in a smuggling boat bound for Italy that capsized. UN chief Ban Ki-moon yesterday urged Europe to do more to help migrants crossing the Mediterranean, calling for search and rescue teams to be ‘further strengthened’.

Greece has asked for more assistance from EU authorities in coping with the flow, and EU commissioner for immigration Dimitris Avramopoulos, who is Greek, was in discussions with government officials in Athens on Tuesday.

Today, UN chief Ban Ki-moon said Europe must do more to help migrants crossing the Mediterranean.

He called for search and rescue operations to be ‚further strengthened‘.

EU ministers last week approved plans for a military operation to fight Mediterranean people smugglers, although proposals to destroy traffickers‘ boats in Libyan waters still need UN approval.

The European Commission has also unveiled plans to make the rest of the 28-nation EU share the burden of frontline states such as Italy, Greece and Malta, although some countries like Britain are opposed.