UPDATE - Greek Police Say Rescued Over 90 Illegal Migrants From Islet On River Evros

ATHENS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 05th June, 2023) The Greek police said on Monday it had rescued 91 illegal migrants, including 32 men, 25 women and 34 children, as part of a salvage operation on an islet in the Evros River on the Greek-Turkish border.

The migrants were detected on the islet by the Greek border police on Sunday afternoon, with representatives of the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) and the Hellenic Red Cross also present at the scene, the police said.

"It was established that the migrants were brought to the Greek territory by a human trafficker who transported them from the opposite shore in a boat and left them on the island," the police's statement read.

The Greek authorities have provided the first aid to the migrants and�have given them clothes and food. All the migrants are currently in good health, the police said, adding that they would now be handed over to the illegal migrant reception center in the Greek city of Orestiada for further procedures.

The Evros River, which is located on a border between Greece an Turkey, has had low water level in recent days, which has enabled migrants to cross the border by moving through the islets on the both sides of the boundary, the Greek government said on Sunday, urging the Turkish authorities to coordinate the border agencies' actions and prevent border crossings by illegal migrants.

Migrants have been arriving in Greece en mass, mainly through Turkey, for years. Athens accuses Ankara of exploiting migrants as a political leverage in a decades-long territorial dispute between the countries, while Turkey says Greece violates international humanitarian law and applies force against migrants and refugees to push them back with little chance of survival.

Europe has been experiencing a major migrant crisis since 2015 due to the influx of thousands of refugees from middle Eastern and North African countries. Migrants have been trying to reach EU states using various routes, including via Italy, Greece, Turkey and the Balkans.