The migrants, whose nationalities have not been revealed, appear to have been trying to leave Greece for Italy, according to initial reports.
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The 35 migrants have reached one of the most touristic beaches of Mykonos on Friday afternoon, arriving at Fragkia and continuing at Lia beach, accompanied by Hellenic Coast Guard officers.
The public order ministry says four Pakistani and two Algerian nationals who had entered Greece illegally were taken back by boat from the eastern island of Lesbos Thursday. Under the deal, new arrivals on Greek islands face being returned to Turkey unless they successfully apply for asylum in Greece.
Although the EU-Turkey agreement has brought about a drastic reduction in the number of arrivals, both Greece and the EU fear a renewed increase as Turkey carries out a crackdown on officials following a failed July 15 coup. The vast majority of migrants – 139 people – reached the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos.
Greece’s coast guard rescued 59 migrants from an inflatable dinghy off the island of Kos Wednesday while a second vessel reported in trouble was picked up by Turkish authorities. It was not immediately clear from where they had set sail or where they were headed.
The charity also pointed out that closed camps and limited movement to the mainland mean that the facilities on the islands of Lesvos, Chios and Samos are incredibly crowded.
Over 10,000 migrants are now squeezed into camps on Lesbos, Chios and Samos, most of whom have fled from conflicts in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, the BBC reports.
Increasing numbers of migrants have turned to alternate and more risky ways of getting to Europe following the implementation of the EU-Turkey deal and border closures on the Balkan route used past year by tens thousands of people.
With the Balkan route closed, increasing numbers of migrants have turned to more unsafe routes. The coast guard said all were in good health.
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