[AP]
Authorities on Crete responded to three separate incidents involving nearly 180 migrants reaching the southern Aegean island by boat on Thursday morning, the state-run Athens Macedonian News Agency reported.
The first incident involved a boat that was spotted by a Frontex EU border patrol vessel south of Kali Limenes in Iraklio, carrying 61 males, of whom 24 are minors.
The second saw 28 people land on Grammeno Beach in Palaiochora in Hania at dawn, while later in the day, 90 people were rescued by a Frontex patrol from two boats southeast of the island of Gavdos.
Crete has seen a sharp rise in migrant arrivals from the shores of northern Africa in the past year, with Thursday’s incidents coming after a merchant vessel rescued 38 migrants whose small boat ran into trouble trying to reach the Greek island on Wednesday.
Nearly 2,500 people are estimated to have reached Crete so far this year from eastern Libya, according to the United Nations.