2 sailboats carrying dozens of migrants reach Greek island

Greek authorities say two sailboats carrying dozens of migrants have arrived on a southern Greek island early, with the first running aground on rocks

Two sailboats carrying dozens of migrants arrived on a southern Greek island early Wednesday, with the first one running aground on rocks. Nobody was reported injured or missing.

The coast guard said the first sailboat, which ran aground on the southern coast of Kythera island early Wednesday, had been carrying 97 people, 93 of them from Afghanistan, three from Turkey and one from Pakistan. Local media reported that those on board included five women and five children.

The exact number of passengers on the second boat — which arrived around midday — and their nationalities were not immediately known, the coast guard said.

It was unclear when or from where the two vessels had set sail, and whether they had been travelling together or separately.

The most common sea route into European Union member Greece for asylum-seekers from the Middle East, Asia and Africa has long been from Turkey to the nearby Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

But with Greek authorities increasing patrols in the area and facing persistent reports of summarily deporting new arrivals back to Turkey without allowing them to apply for asylum, many are now attempting the much longer, and more dangerous, route directly to Italy. Greek authorities deny they carry out illegal summary deportations of asylum-seekers.

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