A complex operation to rescue 520 foreign nationals on board a fishing boat sailing 17 nautical miles south of the island of Gavdos was carried out in the early hours of Wednesday morning. The operation was coordinated by the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and involved a Hellenic Coast Guard offshore patrol boat, a Bahamas-flagged freighter, two Frontex aircraft and four nearby ships.
In a change of plan, the shipping and insular policy ministry announced that the rescued foreign nationals will not be taken to Crete, as originally announced, but travel to the port of Lavrio in Attica on board the freighter.