The Greek Coast Guard has rescued 539 migrants from a distressed fishing boat in the sea near Gavdos Island in southern Greece, with Bangladeshis accounting for the overwhelming majority of those rescued. According to local coast guard authorities (Limenarchio), 437 of the rescued migrants are Bangladeshi nationals.
The operation took place in the early hours of Friday, December 19, when the vessel was spotted in danger in the sea south of Agia Galini. All passengers were safely evacuated and later transferred to the Kitrinosi facility in the city of Rethymno, where the Hellenic Coast Guard carried out registration procedures and identity verification.
Officials confirmed that among those rescued were four women and two children, while the rest were mostly adult men. Rethymno Coast Guard Chief Kyriakos Pattakos said the authorities’ immediate priorities are to identify the human trafficking network behind the operation and to arrange the swift relocation of the migrants to appropriate facilities.
Meanwhile, Yorgos Skordilis, Deputy Mayor of Rethymno responsible for civil protection, expressed concern over the municipality’s limited capacity to host such a large number of migrants at once. He said the lack of coordination with the central government has placed local authorities under significant pressure. Following consultations, it was decided that 300 migrants will be relocated on Monday, while the remaining individuals will be transferred gradually over the coming week.
In addition to the Bangladeshi nationals, the rescued group includes 46 Pakistanis, 34 Egyptians, 12 Eritreans—among them women and children—five Somalis, as well as migrants from Sudan, Yemen, and Palestine. Authorities believe the migrants embarked on the perilous journey from eastern Libya, spending approximately 36 hours at sea with the assistance of human smugglers before reaching Greek waters.
So far, the Bangladesh Embassy in Greece has not issued any official statement regarding the incident.
