A cargo ship with migrants docked in a port on Kos Island

The Greek Ministry of Migration reported that 375 passengers of the ship were transferred to a special centre for migrants. One woman is given medical assistance on Karpathos Island, and six people were detained for questioning.

All passengers will be quarantined – the ministry informed, adding that their stay on the island would be temporary.

Coast Guard officers said that the passengers of the ship are mainly men from Afghanistan.

Athens made an official request to Ankara to pick up a ship that according to the Coast Guard sailed from Turkey and headed for Italy. "We have informed the EU that Turkey is refusing to take the ship back. (...) The time has come for the EU to react (...) and to ensure that the EU/Turkey agreement is respected," said the Minister for Migration Notis Mitarakis on his Twitter account.

The EU and Turkey signed an agreement in 2016, which provided, inter alia, financial assistance to Turkey for the detention of migrants and the non-transition of migrants to the West.

Source: PAP