Around 11 people were on the boat at the time the incident took place, sources said, adding that five of them were rescued.
Advertisement
The deportations on Friday came after the return of 202 migrants earlier this week under the EU-Turkey deal which aims to return migrants who don’t apply for asylum from Greece to Turkey.Police cleared the Chios port overnight Thursday, where Alkhalaf and fellow migrants had remain camped for a week after pushing their way out of the detention camp. However, one of the volunteer translators explained that people are afraid to go as they fear that they will run out of money or be cut off. They feel safer near Athens so majority don’t want to go. Fewer than 100 Syrians have been relocated to Germany, Finland and the Netherlands from Turkish refugee camps under the so-called one-for-one resettlement plan which will see migrants directly resettled in European Union countries from Turkey. He was arrested, the coast guard service said in a later statement. Those who do not qualify will be returned to Turkey.
The UN refugee agency has condemned the deal and rights advocates say it may violate global law.
The spokeswoman said the coastguard had no information about the ages and nationalities of the migrants. Another 366 people have drowned en route. Despite the deportations, boats, full of desperate people continue to reach the Greek islands. According to UNHCR, 483 people arrived at Greece this week, compared to 2,618 arrivals last week.
They were deported from Lesbos on Friday (April 8) under the controversial EU-Turkey deal to stem mass irregular migration to Europe.
Greek deputy foreign minister for European affairs Nikos Xydakis estimated that it will take at least two weeks to fix the process of deporting migrants to Turkey.
Advertisement
Refugees arriving in the port town of Dikili have been moved by bus to a camp in Kirklareli near the Bulgarian border.
