The border safety company Frontex says irregular crossings into the EU over the Mediterranean rose final yr.
The our bodies of not less than seven folks have been recovered off Cyprus after authorities mounted a serious search and rescue operation following the capsizing of a ship carrying refugees, Cyprus’s state broadcaster says.
An unspecified variety of individuals are believed to be lacking whereas two folks had been rescued on Monday from worldwide waters about 30 nautical miles (55.5km) southeast of the island, the broadcaster stated.
Cyprus’s search and rescue coordination centre stated boats and plane had been deployed as a part of the rescue operation with out mentioning casualties.
In an official assertion, it stated a search and rescue operation was “ongoing to find lacking individuals after a migrant boat capsized 30 nautical miles (55 kilometres) southeast of Cape Greco”, referring to the southeastern-most level of the Mediterranean island.
A number of naval helicopters and police patrol boats had been concerned within the seek for survivors, the centre added.
Based on the Cyprus Information Company, one survivor informed authorities that on board had been roughly 20 Syrians who had departed from the port of Tartous, the scene of latest bloodshed in Syria.
The jap Mediterranean island of Cyprus is lower than 200km (125 miles) from the Syrian and Lebanese coasts and has lengthy been a route for refugees searching for a greater life in Europe.
Based on United Nations figures, 125 refugees died within the jap Mediterranean final yr, however the precise determine is more likely to be greater.
The European Union border safety company, Frontex, stated irregular border crossings into the EU over the jap Mediterranean rose final yr regardless of a broader decline within the bloc.
Nicosia stated it has the very best variety of new asylum seeker functions within the EU per capita however has managed to considerably cut back the determine.
Final month, the Ministry of Inside stated asylum functions dropped 69 per cent from 2022 to 2024 whereas irregular maritime arrivals had stopped since Might because of harder authorities insurance policies.
The overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December has prompted some Syrian refugees to return residence. The Republic of Cyprus authorities reported that a median of 40 Syrians per day have requested to return residence since then.
The federal government additionally stated extra asylum seekers had been leaving Cyprus than arriving for the primary time in its unbiased historical past.
